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LIFE AND LETTERS 
OF AUSTIN CRAIG 



Life and Letters 
Of Austin Craig 



By W. S. HARWOOD 

Author of " New Creations in Plant LifeJ 
"The New Earth" etc. 



Introduction, and Reminiscences of 
Antioch College 

By EDWARD EVERETT HALE 




New York Chicago Toronto 

Fleming H. Revell Company 

London and Edinburgh 



Copyright, 1908, by 
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 



.0 



VA3 



iSRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

DEC 26 1808 

CLASS A. XXc, No. 



New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 

Chicago: 80 Wabash Avenue 
Toronto: 25 Richmond Street, W. 
London: 21 Paternoster Square 
Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street 



Every life has a lesson — not so 
much in its external events as 
in its internal strugglings and 
changes. It would be useful to 
know, in some cases, what agen- 
cies have conspired to produce 
the particular development of 
character before us; — what 
books have given a turn to the 
thoughts, — what influences have 
wrought for good or for evil. 

—Extract from an address by Austin Craig. 



PREFACE 

THIS volume affords a typical illustration of the 
truth which now and then through the centur- 
ies comes to light, that the real greatness of 
some men is obscured during their lives by the very 
amplitude of their own daily deeds ; it is not until Death 
draws the curtain aside that the real figure is disclosed. 

In the span of his all too short life whose chief activi- 
ties covered the years from 1840 to 1881, Austin Craig 
came into contact with and enthusiastically entered into 
many stirring events, and he drew and held to himself 
the friendship of many distinguished men. Prominent 
among these was Horace Mann, the correspondence with 
whom is given in this volume and it is believed will be 
found of especial interest by the student of educational 
methods. Whether as college professor or college presi- 
dent, instructor in a theological school or founder and 
president of one after his own heart where not theology 
but the Bible was studied, as preacher or lecturer, in his 
own family circle or the centre of a brilliant coterie of 
scholars, or rendering aid to the most unlettered or the 
most learned man in the long line of those who came to 
depend upon him — whatever the contact or whatever the 
event, Dr. Craig left upon it the impress of his own 
splendid personality. 

He was an advocate of industrial and scientific train- 
ing. As college professor he was a pioneer in introduc- 
ing laboratory and seminar methods for the study of 
psychology and sociology and as far as known was the 
first to have his students inspect penal and charitable in- 

5 



6 PREFACE 

stitutions and devise ways for their improvement. He 
was one of the early advocates of equal privileges for 
women with men educationally and in church govern- 
ment and ecclesiastical affairs. 

It is the purpose of this volume not only to show some- 
thing of the brilliant and picturesque events contemporary 
with him, as the Millerite excitement, one of the strangest 
episodes in the history of any nation, but to show how his 
life fastened itself lovingly upon other lives and would 
not leave them until he had helped them. While the 
book treats of many events having a bearing on religion, 
and is in fact a contemporary narrative of the great 
development of religious liberty during these years, it is 
by no means a volume for the church library alone, but, 
it is earnestly hoped, contains interest for any man or 
woman who loves to read the story of a life of steadfast 
devotion to others. 

A copious amount of material was drawn upon in the 
preparation of this volume, and every new letter read, 
every time-worn pamphlet studied, every delightful 
literary find, every document considered, whether ecclesi- 
astical or civil — all brought forward their evidence. In 
whatever direction one looked there appeared some un- 
selfish deed, some service to another, some act of self-re- 
nunciation. Preeminently this life was one of service to 
others ever rendered more conspicuous by a supreme 
devotion to the Master of men. 

The life of Austin Craig illuminates itself. Looked at 
from any point of view, it glows with a superb unselfish- 
ness as unconscious as it is rare. 

W. S. H. 





CONTENTS 






Introduction 


ii 


I. 


His Early Life .... 


13 


II. 


College Life .... 


21 


III. 


The End of the World 


33 


IV. 


His Early Preaching 


54 


V. 


The First Charge .... 


68 


VI. 


The Conference Address 


86 


VII. 


At Blooming Grove 


. 11,2 


VIII. 


Progress at Blooming Grove 


125 


IX. 


Antioch and Horace Mann . 


■ 153 


X. 


The Struggle .... 


169 


XI. 


The Capitulation .... 


189 


XII. 


Antioch Under Consideration 


214 


XIII. 


Antioch Under Dr. Craig . 


242 


XIV. 


A Letter from a Man's Heart . 


272 


XV. 


Meadville and New Bedford 


288 


XVI. 


The Christian Biblical Institute 


304 


XVII. 


The Culmination of a Life- Work 


321 


XVIII. 


The Man . . 


337 


XIX. 


In the Sight of Others 


356 


XX. 


His Scholarship 


374 




Writings of Austin Craig, D. D. . 


389 




Index 


393 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Austin Craig 

Moses Craig, Father of Austin Craig, with His First 
Grandchild ....... 

Rachel Carhart Craig, Mother of Austin Craig 

The Early Home of Austin Craig, Peapack, New Jersey 

Austin Craig when a Student at Lafayette College 

Pen and Ink Sketch of Lafayette College in 1843 

The Blooming Grove Church .... 

Horace Greeley Letter Reproduced in Facsimile . 

The Blooming Grove Parsonage .... 

Adelaide Churchill Craig, Wife of Austin Craig 

Horace Mann 

Edward Everett Hale ..... 

Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio 

North Christian Church, New Bedford, Mass. . 

Interior of North Christian Church . 

President's Home Christian Biblical Institute 

Christian Biblical Institute, Stanfordville, N. Y. 

Student's Home ....... 

Marriage Certificate Reproduced in Facsimile 

Dr. Craig's Letter to His Daughter Reproduced in 
Facsimile ..... 

Dr. Sarah McCarn Craig . 

Dr. Warren Hathaway 

Greek Letter Written by Dr. Craig, and 
in Facsimile ..... 

Professor Edward L. Youmans 



Facing page 
Title 




16' 
16 
18 
20 • 

2 4 
112 
120 / 

126 

140 

190/ 

242 

254 

300 y 

300 

312 

322 

322 

326 

344 

356" 

358' 

386 
388 



INTRODUCTION 

AUSTIN CRAIG consecrated his life to the great 
ministry of education. As teacher, preacher 
and writer his was preeminently a useful life. 
A favourite saying of his was that of Swedenborg, — 
" The Lord's kingdom is a kingdom of uses." This idea 
of usefulness was the key-note of his life, — to him service 
to God meant service to his fellow men. He says, " To 
become good by being useful, that is what we live for." 
He impressed me as a man who exemplified in his life and 
work and in his devotion to the truth very much of the 
Master whom he served. He did all unselfishly, with 
gladness, with no hope of reward save in seeing his 
labour reach the maximum of good to others. Such a 
life is an inspiration. I rejoice that the life story of this 
man has been written and pray that it may continue to 
teach the great lesson of usefulness. 



11 



I 

HIS EARLY LIFE 

A CURIOUS sense of personal nearness to one 
never seen in the flesh haunts one in going over 
the mass of material pertaining to the life and 
work of the man who is the subject of this volume. It is 
much as though one had known him personally, had come 
under his influence, had been impressed by his learning 
and touched by his tenderness and made broader and 
more charitable and better fitted for service by the con- 
tact ; just as so many thousands were helped and strength- 
ened by him when he was in the flesh. 

For the life of Austin Craig was preeminently one of 
service. Those who would read a story of gold cunningly 
amassed, of ambitions unscrupulously gratified, of greed 
satisfied, or lands ravished, or states stolen, or peoples 
despoiled, must needs fare further. Those who would 
read the story of a masterly unselfishness, of absolute re- 
nunciation of self, of viril manhood, of splendid useful- 
ness to others, the story of a broad and lasting impress 
upon a man's fellow men, may pause here and find the 
pages fair to look upon. 

In the long and varied correspondence which has been 
preserved, covering over half a century, much more of 
which, most unfortunately, is lost, there is scarcely a let- 
ter addressed to Dr. Craig from his youth up which does 
not directly or indirectly acknowledge service from him. 
In all his relations to others there seems to have been but 
one dominant question, one to the answering of which he 

13 



14 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

gave his life, How may I best, and most, serve others ? 
And there be few figures which rise colossal out of the 
mists, or even the clear-air times, which have not given 
their lives to answering some fashion of the same ques- 
tion. To lead others into broader and finer fields, to fit 
their eyes to the nobler landscapes, to lend an arm over 
the stony places, to strengthen, uplift, broaden, — this was 
his life aim. 

Born in a period when a bitter strife of sect was reach- 
ing its culmination in a revolt against a commanding and 
formidable orthodoxy, he was early possessed of the spirit 
of religious freedom ; and yet, so tenacious of the truth, 
he would yield no inch of adherence to the vital integrity 
of the Word. He steered directly into a dual current, so 
to speak, one bearing him towards a cruel God and one 
towards a vapid God, but he overcame them both in his 
steady course to the true God. 

He not only drew men by the inexorable logic of his 
arguments, based upon faith and a wider and deeper 
knowledge of the original texts of the Old and New 
Testaments than that possessed by perhaps any other 
American of his time, but he attracted and held them by 
the charm of his personality and the rare winsomeness of 
his life. The one faculty commanded their understand- 
ing, the other won their hearts. The one gave the 
finished plans and furnished the materials, the other 
built with a splendid thoroughness. He held men with 
the grip that outlasts life. Again and again in the cor- 
respondence are found comparisons between him and 
some one of the first disciples of the Christ. Some 
of these letters were written years ago, faded and tar- 
nished with time ; others are in ink fresh from the 
trembling pen of some old man who knew him in his 
prime. Curiously enough, nearly all such letters are 
from men, men of robust intellectual life, practical men, 



HIS EARLY LIFE 15 

not sentimentalists nor mawkish, men who recognized in 
the life and personality of this man the supremest human 
devotion. 

His college life, too, was spent amidst tremendous relig- 
ious excitement of quite another type. We of a calmer day 
may look back with a placid complaisance or even with 
a fine touch of scorn upon such scenes as those which ac- 
companied the great Millerite excitement which swept 
up over America involving not only the densely ignorant 
but the critically intelligent, and we may mildly wonder 
how people could be such fools ; though perhaps we may 
not need to look far afield to find other and even more 
exasperatingly illogical and stupid religious fads. But 
there must have been a tremendous fascination in this 
Millerite business, this end of Satan's sway about to 
come, the inrush of the thousand years of the mighty 
time of the Christ, and all proven by the sacred text it- 
self with due fidelity to day and hour. While there is 
nothing to show that the young man was other than 
curiously interested in the excitement, there can be no 
doubt that, to an impressionable mind, the wide-spread 
belief, widely heralded and preached, that the time of the 
temporal reign of the Christ was at hand, with more than 
fifty thousand people believing it, many of them selling 
or giving away their possessions and getting ready to 
meet God, must have led towards serious, if not solemn, 
thoughts. 

Austin Craig came of strong stock. His lineage ran 
back to the Scots who, under King James I, and loyal to 
him, left Scotland and settled in the north of Ireland 
from whence came so many powerful figures of the early 
days of the New World. Moses Craig, his father, was 
born at Peapack, New Jersey, in 1796, dying in the same 
place at nearly eighty years of age. He was a man of 
parts, a leader among his people, a standard by which to 



16 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

measure other men. He was a teacher as a young man 
and afterwards a merchant and an extensive farmer. He 
was twice chosen state senator of New Jersey and was 
prominently mentioned at one time for the governership. 
On his death his son wrote of him : 



"In his seventeenth year he began to be a school-teacher, 
and for several years continued in the work for which he seemed 
specially qualified by his clear and methodical mind, his apt- 
ness to teach, his love for children, and his influence over 
them. His lifelong temperance and self-control gave him 
working-health almost uninterrupted for sixty years. He was 
notably active, industrious, persevering, and successful in 
various undertakings. He thought of life as a trust. The 
Master's charge, 'Occupy, till I come,' was often on his lips. 
He had a deep sense of the value of time, and was never be- 
hindhand. Idleness and waste, his soul hated. His word 
was good everywhere, and his hand had help in it. He loved 
to meet men who could do something useful, or who knew 
something worth knowing. He was gifted in social conversa- 
tion, but could hold his tongue as well as any. Religious 
topics interested him most, and his memory of the ideas and 
words of the Bible was unusually full and exact." 



Rachel Carhart Craig, mother of Austin Craig, a 
woman of strong mentality, much beloved for her sweet 
manners, her beauty, and her sprightly wit, was born in 
Perryville, New Jersey, of English ancestry, in 1801. 
Through her mother she was directly descended from 
Edward Fuller, one of the little Mayflower's famous list 
of passengers. She, too, came of strong stock. Her 
very great-grandfather, Major William Phillips, who had 
been major commandant of the military forces in the prov- 
ince of Maine, had a grant of land from the Indian Mogg 
Megone. Reference is made to him in the poem on Mogg 
Megone by Whittier, together with an explanatory foot- 





in U 

°3 



U ~ 



HIS EAELY LIFE 17 

note giving Major Phillips place among the leading men 
of the colony as a magistrate and a gentleman. One 
writing of Austin Craig's mother says : 



"She was slight and always very erect, whether in sitting or 
walking. She had much ability, unusually good judgment, 
and a keen sense of humour. She was scrupulously neat about 
her house, insisting upon extreme cleanliness, and neat to 
daintiness personally. Her dress was almost Quakerish in 
simplicity. She had been unusually well educated for a girl 
of her day and was especially anxious that her children should 
have every educational advantage. Very gentle and reserved, 
she gave one the impression of ready yielding, but when she 
had made up her mind on questions of principle, or where her 
children were concerned, she did not waste time or strength in 
arguing, but quietly went ahead and did things, as they should 
be done, in emergencies doing the right thing quickly and 
without fuss. She was quietly religious and it was a familiar 
sight to see her with the Bible on her knee." 

Quaintly interesting is the fact that the eldest daughter 
of Austin Craig now wears a ring, a slender gold band, 
which is a part of the wedding-ring worn by his grand- 
mother's great-grandmother, during the historic siege of 
Derry. In the time of his great-grandmother the ring 
was beaten out into a thin strip by a goldsmith of New 
Brunswick, New Jersey, and made over into three rings. 
The smith was a bumptious fellow and was determined 
that the ring should go into his melting-pot and then be 
fashioned into the three. Though he was restrained from 
this, he did manage to engrave his own initials on the 
outside of each of the three rings ! On the inner part of 
each circlet were engraved the initials of the three daugh- 
ters to whom the rings were given. The ring has come 
down through the generations in this curious fashion. 

The home into which Austin Craig was born in Pea- 
pack, New Jersey, in the year 1824, was not only one of 



18 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

refinement and culture but one to which, came many 
broadening and deepening influences from the outside 
world. It was then in the days when there were few rail- 
roads and the home of Moses Craig became the tarrying - 
place of many famous ministers of the day, en route east 
and west. Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, 
were welcomed alike as bearers of the message of Christ 
and entertained in this hospitable home, finding a fine 
and generous welcome and mental and spiritual stimula- 
tion. There was no church in the vicinity, so that often 
the home was converted into a meeting-house. People 
living near would be notified of the coming services. 
Frequently they would thus have an opportunity of hear- 
ing some man of wide influence and great eloquence. 

Moses Craig professed religion at the age of thirteen, 
and became a communicant of the Presbyterian Church, 
which was the church of his ancestors. While a devout 
man, he was in no sense a fanatical one. He was deeply 
religious but he was just as deeply liberal in the nobler 
sense. He held to his own views tenaciously, but he was 
broadly charitable and tolerant of the views of others, 
and ever ready to accept a new, and better, setting of an 
old truth. One day it happened that a sermon was 
preached in his house by a minister of the Christian de- 
nomination — Elder William Lane, who came from Ohio 
on a visit to his kindred in Peapack. 



"Soon after," writes Austin Craig of the incident, "Elder 
Simon Clough came ; and a little later, Mrs. Abigail Roberts. 
These seemed faithful ministers of the Gospel to him whose 
house was opened to their message ; but an ecclesiastical 
tribunal pronounced them ' heretical teachers holding Arian 
and Socinian doctrines.' And when Elders Clough and Lane 
were brought to give testimony that they did not hold ' Arian 
and Socinian doctrines,' the tribunal would not permit them to 
testify, — but ' suspended from the communion of the church ' 



HIS EAELY LIFE 19 

the friend in whose house they had preached. This fact is not 
mentioned here to call in question the motives of any ; but only 
to record experiences of the past — or passing — generation." 



The fact that so many men of such diverse gifts were 
constant visitors gave the young lad unusual opportuni- 
ties for broadening — it was, in those days, quite like hav- 
ing travelled himself to be thrown in with so many who 
came from such far quarters of the land. It all tended to 
develop, even if unconsciously to him, along the lines in 
which he afterwards became so conspicuously successful. 

He was a slight, slender lad, not strong, inclined to 
books rather than to sports, fitted by nature, by the train- 
ing of his father, and by the atmosphere in which he 
lived for the life of a scholar. It is not shown that he 
was, as a boy, any more inclined to be religious than the 
average lad who had not so many and such striking re- 
ligious influences thrown around him. In fact, it was not 
until he was a student in college that he made any open 
confession of religion or that he manifested other than a 
very superficial interest in such matters. In spite of all 
he read and heard, religious exercises, as he later himself 
confessed, were a bore to him. 

His father's love for, and aptness in, teaching no doubt 
did a great deal in turning the boy's mind in the direc- 
tion his life was to lead. A peculiarly close relationship 
existed between father and son. It was the careful pre- 
liminary cultivation in the precious formative period of 
the boy's life, coupled with the companionship and inti- 
mate personal relationship with a man of rare mind that 
particularly fitted him for the larger life to come. 

An incident illustrates the influences early brought to 
bear upon him by his father to teach him both self-re- 
liance and obedience. When he was a little lad he was 
told that he must not go into a stream that ran hard by 



20 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

the house, but wheu he saw the ducks swimming sedately 
in the summer sunshine along the course of the shallow 
brook, he could not resist wadiug in after them. Glee- 
fully folio wiug on down the stream he was suddenly 
thrown forward on his face in the water by a push from 
behind. He did not know what it was that caused him 
to fall flounderingly into the stream, though he did recog- 
nize the firm hand drawing him out after the father's 
well-planned object lesson. 

School days passed rapidly by and at an early age he 
was fitted for college. He chose Lafayette College, at 
Easton, Pennsylvania, a well-known institution then, as 
well as now. It was a tall, thin fellow with a serious yet 
kindly face, a face that could show quickly the workings 
of the fine strong mind back of the high white forehead, 
that one day in the autumn of the year 1840, at the age of 
sixteen years entered the college where he was, even as a 
boy, to exert so strong an influence upon those with whom 
he came in contact ; where he was swiftly to show the 
splendid stuff of which he was made, and where much 
was to happen to lead him towards the position he was 
to occupy as one of the foremost teachers and preachers 
in America. 




AUSTIN CRAIG WHEN A STUDENT AT 
LAFAYETTE COLLEGE 



II 

COLLEGE LIFE 

COLLEGE life in America in 1840 did not differ 
in certain minor ways from the college life of to- 
day, but in many other ways it differed radically. 
Even a cursory glance at the thin little catalogue of 
Lafayette for the year in which he entered, — the whole 
catalogue not being as extensive as the space devoted in 
these days to a single department of one of our larger in- 
stitutions, — shows the marked difference between the col- 
lege curricula of the two periods. The leaning was to the 
classics. Little, relatively, of science, as we know the 
term to-day, was included in the course. To be sure, 
there was not so much science to teach in that day, but, 
notwithstanding this, the classics predominated. Greek 
and Latin, classical literature, logic, intellectual philos- 
ophy, moral science, philosophy of rhetoric, political 
economy, the constitution of the United States, — these 
were imperative. Mathematics were by no means neg- 
lected, and the course was liberal in this respect, but 
chemistry does not appear until the first term of the 
junior year. Lectures were given, " at intervals, " in the 
last term of the junior year and the first term of the 
senior, on mineralogy and geology, and on anatomy and 
physiology the last term of the senior year. 

Commencement, curiously enough, did not take place 
until the second Wednesday in September. After com- 
mencement there was a vacation of six weeks. The col- 
lege year then began, consisting of only two terms. They 
were both of twenty weeks, the first one followed by an- 

21 



22 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

other vacation of six weeks in the spring. The second 
term ran through the summer to commencement in Sep- 
tember. 

The college life itself was no less different from that of 
to-day. The college day began at 4:30 o'clock when a 
trumpet was loudly blown throughout the halls. At five 
it blew again, giving an hour's time for study before the 
six o'clock breakfast. The routine of the day was less 
elastic than that of modern days. Discipline was more 
strict and pains and penalties awaited the student for 
such acts as would to-day be overlooked if, indeed, they 
would be even noticed, by those in authority. In a let- 
ter written in his seventeenth year, — before he had be- 
come converted to a religious life, as one reference will 
show, — he wrote as follows to his parents as to the daily 
routine : 

" You want to know what I am doing on the first day of the 
week. Why not on the third, or fourth day? I esteem all 
days alike. But, nevertheless, I will tell you. I get up in the 
morning, dress myself, wash, comb my head, make my bed, 
etc. Next read until seven ; then attend prayers in the Col- 
lege Hall ; eat breakfast ; read an hour and so on until ten ; go 
to the Presbyterian church ; get back about twelve ; eat dinner 
at half- past and at two attend church under the powerful 

preaching of G J . Get back at four ; attend Bible 

class at four-thirty, where the Greek scholars give the original 
meanings of the Scriptural texts for an hour ; next supper, 
then prayers and finally, to make a long story short, go to 
bed. . . . The room is fifteen by sixteen feet square, con- 
tains three beds, two desks, a table, three chairs, a stool, a 
swill-pail, a chest, two trunks, a small cupboard, three shelves 
containing about 145 books, a wagon-load of newspapers and 
pamphlets under the bed, a parcel of old shoes and a number 
of small et ceteras. Eating, drinking, and sleeping, I spend 
about ten hours, oftener less than more, going to bed at ten, 
eleven, twelve, and once at a quarter past two. After lessons 
I read Political Economy, Mnemonics, Heathen Mythology, 
books of travel, histories and the al Koran." 



COLLEGE LIFE 23 

The outspoken character of the man- to -be was mirrored 
in the youth, as his comment on the preacher at the 
Dutch Keformed service indicates : 

" Now I'll tell ye what I think of G J , D. D. He 

is a small-bodied man but in mind wonderfully diminutive. 

" « A hundred thousand such might lie 
Wedged in a cambric needle's eye.' " 

Then quoting evidently from the same preacher he 
says, together with some boyish nonsense : 

"' Study at all times to know your duty respecting your 
superiors.' Now, the study is not very irksome because about 
every half hour our next door neighbour in the third story 
plays on the fiddle, • tickling the dried guts of a mewing cat ! ' 
I have lately read some in astronomy. You might probably be 
surprised at the immense, and diminutive, things therein de- 
scribed. Doctor Caustic of Terrible Tractoration memory, 



And 



" ' Discovered world's within the pale 
Or tip end of a tadpole's tail.' 

" * Great fleas have little fleas, 
Who have less fleas to bite 'em; 
These fleas have lesser fleas, 
And so ad infinitum ! ' 

And," the youthful critic adds, "it is supposed they get each 
other to scratch their backs with the jagged end of a louse 
hair!" 

Following this, sharply drawn in black ink with a pen 
upon the dark yellow paper of the letter, without any 
introductory words, is a picture of the buildings of Lafay- 
ette College, done in a boy's crude way, yet giving a clear 
idea of the buildings as they then stood. On the follow- 
ing page he has drawn plans of the main floor of the 
college, all no doubt of great interest to his family who 



24 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

wished to know the full details of his life. He does not 
conclude his letter until he takes another fling at the 
preacher : 

" On last Sunday his sermon was on the woman whose son 
was caught up into heaven and who fled into the wilderness 
from the dragon who poured out of his mouth a flood. The 
doctor explained the woman to be the Church, the flood of the 
dragon all the means that were used to corrupt a church, such 
as a party's joining with a sect of infidels — such as Fanny 
Wright and Robert Dale Owen and their party, for political 
purposes. This is the flood, as the doctor says, * Hot and 
stinking from the Devil's throat, which a wretched faction use 
as the means of political advancement.' 'Pull Doctor, pull 
Devil,' thought I. He further stated that he rejoices that that 
party was minus power through the high-minded intelligence 
of an enlightened community. 

" I will take notes of the doctor's next sermon and send you. 
I understand an article is now in type in the office of the 
Easton Democrat to expose the Rev. Doctor. He certainly 
deserves it, for it was as complete a blackguard speech as 
ever disgraced the Halls of Pandemonium. I shall join the 
Franklin Society next Friday evening. They have the most 
members and the finest hall. They also have a number of 
valuable books which the others have not. The president in 
expectant has returned an answer to a letter written him, ac- 
cepting the call to preside over the institution. It is plain 

Dr. J does all he can to pull down the college, and the 

Church also, judging from his political sermon last Sunday. I 
think this line is applicable to him : 

" ' That thus a worm of dust should mock Eternity.' " 

The letter, which was written on Saturday evening, 
January 30, 1841, ends with this postscript : 

" Napoleon's remains have been dug up and are now in 
France. Send on the newspapers you were speaking of, if you 
please." 

In a letter written in December of the same year, he 
begins with a long and most charmingly written essay 



COLLEGE LIFE 25 

on the Aborigines of America, the outcome of large read- 
ing on his part, thus giving the family at home a far 
larger and clearer idea of the subject than they could 
have had without access to the books he had studied. 
The paper is illuminated in places by cleverly drawn 
reproductions of hieroglyphics accompanied by interpre- 
tations of their real meaning, and contains much inter- 
esting description of the writings of primitive peoples. 
In the midst of it he suddenly breaks off with : 



"I have bought a book called i Historia Grecse.' I paid 
five shillings for it. I shall begin to read (Greek) in a few 
days as I am about half through the grammar. I am now in a 
class of five formed last year. Mathematics will soon come. 
I am well. We live as good as may be. Breakfast, — fish, 
coffee, 'taters, etc. ; dinner, — meat, water, molasses, butter, 
potatoes, etc. ; supper, — mush and milk, or rice, etc. I ex- 
pect about half a dozen chaps will be expelled, as they are 
cited to appear before the faculty to answer for going to 

dancing school where one of them got drunk, and sick. G 

J says he will vote for expulsion. Should any of the 

faculty second the motion they must go and joy go with 
them!" 

In another letter he writes : 

"Since my last letter to you the honourable faculty of 
Lafayette College convened and after mature deliberation 

agreed unanimously to expel W , H , O , M , 

G , and G , because they engaged in playing cards. 

These six gentlemen were thus treated simply and solely 
because they engaged in playing cards. The faculty agreed 
to meet again this week when it is expected others will 
receive the same honour. As we will read Caesar this week I 
have found it necessary to buy a large Latin dictionary. I 

bought it of W , one of the gentlemen expelled, and, as he 

had no further use for it, he sold it to me for $2. A new one, 
I suppose, would cost $4 or $5 at the least calculation. Fur- 
ther, I got an excellent wash-stand, bowl and pitcher, for four- 



26 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

teen shillings, new, costing last fall, $3.50. The wash-stand I 
should not have bought but for its being a very good one. 
If I stay here I shall want one next spring. 

" I don't know what to write. There is no news, foreign or 
domestic, except that it is rumoured, and confidently believed, 
that the Niagara Falls were washed away during the last freshet ! 
The truth of this is rather doubted." 



The habit of the student had early been fixed in the boy 
by the training he had had under his father. It became 
natural for him to work and work hard in a college period 
when students were not so numerous that they could not 
have immediate personal supervision, and when laziness 
was tantamount to exclusion. "I was in to Dr. Yeo- 
mans' this morning," he writes to his father, "for the 
purpose of getting the grades of the two back weeks. 
They run : first week in languages, 83, in mathematics, 
81 ; second week in languages, 87, in mathematics, 92. I 
do not know," he adds naively, " but I flatter myself this 
is as high as any in the class. While I was in Dr. Yeo- 
inans' room he got to talking about my leaving this class 
for the sophomore. He says his opinion is that at the 
end of the session I might join that class. He says to do 
the work of three years in two would require considerable 
extra effort, but he thinks it can be done. At the be- 
ginning of next session I will then begin with the soph- 
omores." 

While Moses Craig was a man well-to-do for the times, 
he was yet not an extravagant man and he lost no favour- 
able opportunity to impress thrift and economy upon his 
son. Frequently in his letters to Austin he would call 
attention to his expenditures, not in a faultfinding way, 
but rather to keep before him the need of care and thought 
in money matters. No doubt this may in part account 
for such an expression as this from the son in a letter 
written in November of 1842 : 



COLLEGE LIFE 27 

" I have now something to communicate which I would not 
wish to have happened under any circumstances. I unfortu- 
nately let fall a thermometer last Monday belonging to one of 
the students and broke the glass containing the mercury. I 
sent it down to Philadelphia and had a new glass put in and 
borrowed $2 of Mr. Yeomans to pay for it which I told him I 
would repay next week. Now I should be extremely obliged 
to you for sending me $2 next week if you can. I am very 
sorry the thing occurred at all but that will do no good now." 

While the letters to the son now and again contain ad- 
monitions, these are not obtrusively introduced, but only 
as by-the-ways, the wise father knowing full well that if 
the son were at last to embrace religion it would not be 
as a result of nagging. Now and then such words as 
these are found in the midst of matters of wholly differ- 
ent import : 

" I hope you will not relax in duty. Grow in grace and in 
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Be faith- 
ful. Many have their eyes turned towards you from this place ; 
don't let them be disappointed. Make yourself as a light in a 
dark place." 

While in a certain sense even as a boy he withheld 
himself from others, or, to put it better, was less inclined 
to the rollicking, care-free life of many boys, he was yet 
so thoroughly genial and sincere he won everybody to 
him. It was his nature to seek the companionship of those 
who were interested in the things in which he found de- 
light, so that it was not long before he became identified 
with the leading literary activities of the college. He 
entered heartily into the college life in all its varied lines 
and his letters home are full of boyish appreciation. 
Through all his letters, however, runs a deep undercur- 
rent of seriousness, a purposefulness, so to call it, a de- 
termination, very early formed, to use the opportunities 
before him to the best possible advantage. While he was 



28 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

less often seen in the midst of the sports of the college 
than in the library, he was nevertheless a warm friend to 
those who by physical strength could engage in those 
things from which, through a constitution not over- 
strong, he was largely debarred. The boy, like the man 
in later years, had the splendid gift of character : such a 
character as not only wins admiration but compells stead- 
fast regard. 

The sober face of the young man,— albeit it could 
swiftly be changed by the winsomest of smiles — together 
with a certain soberness of demeanour won for him the 
title of "Deacon," which clung to him during all his col- 
lege life. Not a few of the letters to him written while at 
Lafayette address him as "My dear Deacon." One of 
these from his lifelong friend, R. J. Wright, a fellow 
student, is written from Philadelphia and is addressed to 
"My Deacon." In it he indulges in some college boy 
nonsense, making humorous allusion to Austin's length 
and leanness. 

In all literary matters he early took a deep interest and 
a prominent part. He was sought after for appearance 
on society programmes and did not fail to justify the ex- 
pectations of his friends. On all public occasions, in 
fact, in which his class took a part, he was in constant 
demand. Says one friend of the time, " Lafayette College 
enjoyed a reputation for thorough scholarship and the 
most bigoted religious intolerance. I made the acquaint- 
ance of Austin Craig in his third college year, at the 
time of his conversion, and I should say, from my recol- 
lections of his orations, addresses, and essays, that his 
attainments and scholarship were not overshadowed even 
in that excellent school ; for, as I remember, he gener- 
ally, if not always, represented his class at commence- 
ment and on other occasions." The college made its 
impress upon the young man, too, an influence which re- 



COLLEGE LIFE 29 

mained with him through all his later years. He never 
lost his interest in his faithful, if sometimes dogmatical 
and even domineering, Alma Mater, and he ever recog- 
nized her sterling qualities of mind and heart. In 1865 
he wrote in response to an invitation to attend the com- 
mencement exercises of Lafayette : 

" I find myself so pressed for time that I must neglect much 
that under other circumstances would have great claims upon 
me. I had looked forward with great pleasure to this com- 
mencement of Lafayette, and especially to the prospect of meet- 
ing again my old classmates and friends of college days whom 
I have not seen since we were boys together on your hill. 
. . . Should I fail to be present with you, I beg you to ex- 
press to President Cattell and the faculty my sincere wishes for 
the success of Lafayette in training up multitudes of young men 
for usefulness and happiness ; and, to any old friends who may 
speak of me, I beg you to say for me that I cherish the memory 
of the days and scenes in which we were once united at La- 
fayette, as among the most pleasant and precious that a bounti- 
ful providence has given me to enjoy. Some of those olden- 
time associations, especially those in which our friendships as 
fellow students were exalted by our communion as fellow Chris- 
tians, were so happy to me that I could think nothing happier 
except to work together with them on earth for the redemption 
of the world ; and in heaven, to share the lot of those who see 
the Father's face and serve His perfect will with perfect heart." 

Ten years later, responding to a similar invitation, he 
renewed his allegiance in these words : 

" Finally devoting this sheet to the honoured Mother of us 
all, and to the brethren assembling in the Society and Alumni 
reunions, I desire to send by you affectionate greetings to the 
fathers and brethren now at the old home, and, in particular, 
to any of the returning brethren of thirty years ago who may be 
able to remember the ' Deacon.' 

" Not many can now come to your reunions, who were in 
college thirty years ago. The year after the bridge was almost 
carried down the Delaware, we had not nearly so many at La- 



30 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

fayette, all told, as you have now in one class. We rejoice in 
these good days for Lafayette ; though it would make us — who 
are now fifty years old, — feel the more lonesome, perhaps, to 
see a single class-room containing more than Aaron's l trumpet 
sounded, when college classes, Model school, and the Coloured 
Theological class (of one person), all came together, either to 
sup in the middle basement, or to attend prayers before day- 
break, in the old chapel under the Society Halls. Congratula- 
tions to the President and Professors, and to the younger 
brethren, who see and enjoy these better, brighter days ! The 
blessing of God be still with * Lafayette,' and His grace with 
those who go forth from her to-day, and who, to-day, after 
many years of absence, return to her." 

For three years he continued at Lafayette. Then, with 
the desire to preach the Gospel burning within him, he 
left the institution without taking his degree. In 1844 
he returned again and resumed his labours, taking up 
regular and post graduate work, and received his degree 
of Master of Arts. 

On my desk as I write these lines lies a faded, mil- 
dewed letter, stained and worn with time, broken in its 
creases, which may be unfolded only with great care. In 
it is the crux of a young man' s life. It tells of that point, 
reached some time or another in the life of every man 
and woman, when they stand, as one might say without 
irreverence, in the presence of the Most High, vaguely 
catching glimpses of the Infinite. It is a place of the 
parting of the ways, where men stand face to face with 
their own souls. It needs no argument to prove such 
moments come : on the decision which road to follow has 
depended through all the centuries since the Christ the 
fate of men, indeed the fate of nations and the Church. 
For one of these roads leads into a life consecrated to the 
cause of God and man ; the other leads to the elevation 

1 Reference is here made to one Aaron H. Hoff, of Easton, who blew 
a trumpet at 4:30 o'clock every morning to arouse the students. 



COLLEGE LIFE 31 

of self with all its attendant train of pains and pen- 
alties. 

The letter was written on a Thursday night, in the 
solitude of a college boy's room, just before the coming 
of Christmas in the year 1842. In it the boy and the man 
meet, grope, see each other, and pass on ; the boy dies and 
the man is enthroned. The letter was the outcome of strug- 
gle. It tells of victory. Beared as the boy had been in 
the midst of constant religious activity, he had yet reached 
college age without any interest in religious matters, 
much less with any intention of devoting his life to the 
cause of religion. In the letter which is addressed to his 
parents and sister, written in the beautiful copperplate 
hand which distinguished him, boy and man, and in 
words which showed the influence of the more or less 
stilted form of correspondence of the day, he tells of a 
meeting he has had with a converted sailor who has given 
up the sea, become identified with the Church, fitted for 
college and is now in the midst of his college course. It 
is curiously interesting the way in which this boy, whose 
life had been spent amidst the daily application of re- 
ligious truths, had ignored them all, and now, away from 
home, in the midst of strange surroundings meets this 
sailor friend who reads to him from the Bible, prays with 
him, selects passages of the Bible for him to read, even 
invites him to his room where the sailor prays long and 
earnestly for the conversion of his friend. 

This and much more the letter tells about. On the 
next Sunday following his first glimpse of the real truth 
he goes to church, for the first time in his life, as he says, 
finding the service not a bore, the first time in which re- 
ligious exercises held any interest for him, "the first 
time," the boy in him quaintly adds, "since I arrived at 
years of understanding, in which I could truly say that I 
was perfectly happy. " 



32 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CKAIG 

In a second section of the letter he addresses his sister 
personally. The spirit of the evangel came quickly upon 
him. 1 1 If you have not before this come to the Saviour/ ' 
he writes, "let me entreat by everything you hold dear, 
by your present hope of happiness, and as you value your 
soul's eternal welfare, to do so now. ... If you 
would have us all meet at the right hand of God at the 
great Day of Judgment, I entreat you to come to the 
Saviour ; He alone is able to take away your sins. . . . 
If you become, as I trust you will, an humble follower of 
Christ, you will see everything in a new light. Things 
which you may now look upon as trifling will then ap- 
pear far different ; the smallest transgression will then ap- 
pear great inasmuch as it is a sin against God!" 

Such an exhortation under such circumstances within 
three days of the old life, coming from one still a boy in 
years, is not less remarkable than the announcement with 
which the letter closes, — how little the boy dreamed then 
how his hope would be fulfilled : 

"It now appears to me to be a duty to preach the Gospel, 
and I intend, God helping me, to do so. I hope He may 
make me an instrument in His hand of doing much good to 
my fellow beings." 

A noble life consecrated to every noble aim, a steadily 
widening influence, reaching far out beyond the thousands 
who came in personal contact and ever broadening unto 
and beyond this present day, a large and splendid scholar- 
ship, an absolutely unselfish and devoted life, — all built 
upon three lines of a faded, time-stained letter, so worn 
by nearly three-quarters of a century of life that it safely 
folds back into the broken creases with the utmost diffi- 
culty ; — it is a letter to be cherished, the herald of a life 
without whose ministration the world must have suffered 
irreparable loss. 



Ill 

THE END OF THE WORLD 

IT was during the college course at Lafayette that an 
event of national interest reached its culmination, — 
the world was to come to an end in 1843. At in- 
tervals through the centuries since Christ, men had arisen 
who, from the prophecies of the Old Testament, and from 
portions of the New, were able to select a date when, in 
their judgment, the second coming of the Saviour would 
end the present era. Various views were held as to 
whether the final Day of Judgment would come at the 
beginning of Christ's second reign upon the earth or at the 
end of the thousand years of that reign ; and there were 
many other points concerning which dispute arose. But 
the strong central belief that Christ would come in per- 
son never died among men, however frequent the disap- 
pointment because the Saviour did not appear. 

When Austin Craig was a lad of seven or eight a man 
by the name of William Miller spoke out, as others had 
spoken during the centuries, concerning the second com- 
ing of Christ. It was no uncertain voice, either, but 
aroused many thousands to a tremendous pitch of excite- 
ment and caused many other thousands to pause and take 
account of stock ; — if such a thing were possible, which 
these other thousands could not for a moment entertain 
seriously, but, still, if it were possible, what novel, not 
to say strangely solemn, scenes must ensue ! And so as 
this unlettered but intensely in earnest man went up and 
down the land calling for a preparation to meet the Christ, 

33 



U LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

interest steadily deepened and widened, growing more 
passionately intense as the year approached. Miller ap- 
pears to have been a man of candour and honesty, 
esteemed by his followers as of more than ordinary powers, 
cool and sagacious, humble and devout, a man of great 
moral and social worth. He was uneducated save as he 
had helped himself to an education. He was born in 
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1782, and was old enough, 
hence, to fill, as he did, the captaincy of a company of 
troops guarding the northern frontier in the War of 1812. 
The word goes that he had become a pronounced deist 
as he had read the works of Voltaire, Thomas Paine and 
Ethan Allen, but, however that may be, he became at last 
a member of the Baptist church at Low Hampton, New 
York, to which place he had moved ; and thenceforth he 
took up the close study of such Bible concordances as he 
could command. In these and the prophecies of the Old 
Testament, particularly of the Book of Daniel, he found 
his arguments for the coming end of the world. In 1831 
he began in a small way to preach his new doctrine, 
often to mere handfuls of people. In 1833 he was form- 
ally licensed to preach by the Baptist denomination. 
The interest in what this serious-minded man had to say, 
had now so heightened that larger audiences awaited him. 
He was made welcome, too, in the churches of nearly all 
the denominations, so that he rapidly entered a still wider 
field of labour. As the members of different denomina- 
tions looked into the matter, they found that not only had 
men in far distant centuries held to this belief that at 
some time, near or far, the reign of a thousand years would 
come, but that even in Cromwell's time the overthrow of 
the royal family in England was looked upon as an event 
leading directly up to the end, and the year 1666 was set 
upon as the time ; while Swedenborg, famous among those 
who came later, had designated 1836 as the year in which 



THE END OF THE WORLD 35 

the millennium would begin. Others set the date forward 
to 1867, and still others to 1881. 

In an encyclopedia, published in 1831, in Philadel- 
phia, — The Encyclopedia Americana, — the movement is 
quite liberally discussed contemporaneously. After re- 
counting the powerful hold that belief in a millennium 
had held upon people of the middle ages and how it was 
adopted and promulgated in the first centuries after Christ 
not only by heretics but by the orthodox, the review 



" Before the millennium began it was held that human misery 
was to rise to the highest degree ; then the overthrow of the 
Roman Empire would follow, and from its ruins would rise a 
new state of things, in which the faithful who had risen from 
the dead with those still living would enjoy ineffable happiness. 
At that blissful period every ear of wheat would produce 
10,000 grains, every grain ten pounds of flour ; every vine 
would yield millions on millions of measures of wine ; the in- 
nocence of Paradise would be united to every intellectual and 
sensual pleasure ; the victory of the faithful over the unbelievers 
would be complete, and the blessed would reside in the heavenly 
Jerusalem which would descend from heaven with extraor- 
dinary splendour and grandeur to receive them into its magnif- 
icent habitation. . . ." 



Miller by constant study and persistent efforts to over- 
throw all objections finally mastered a thoroughly plau- 
sible line of argument based upon apparently indisputable 
facts. These points among which were the following con- 
tained the essence of his belief, a belief which aroused a 
considerable number of people to the pitch of fanaticism 
and made a very considerable other number feel decidedly 
uncomfortable : 

"I believe at Christ's second coming the body of every 
departed soul will be raised like Christ's glorious body. 

" I believe that the righteous who are living on the earth 



30 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

when He comes will be changed from mortal to immortal 
bodies and with them who are raised from the dead will 
be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so be for- 
ever with the Lord. 

" I believe that when Christ comes He will destroy the 
bodies of the living wicked by fire, as those of the old 
world were destroyed by water, and shut up their souls 
in the pit of woe, until their resurrection unto damnation. 

" I believe when the earth is cleansed by fire, that Christ 
and His saints will then take possession of the earth and 
dwell therein forever. Then the kingdom will be given 
to the saints. 

"I believe the time is appointed of God when these 
things shall be accomplished. 

' 1 1 believe the wise, they who are to shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmament (Daniel 12 : 3), will understand the 
time. 

' * I believe the time can be known by all who desire to 
understand and to be ready for His coming, and I am 
fully convinced that some time between March 21, 1843, 
and March 21, 1844, according to the Jewish mode of 
computation of time, Christ will come and bring all His 
saints with Him and that then He will reward every man 
as his works shall be. ' ' 

As proof Miller cited Matthew 15 : 27 : " For the Son 
of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His 
angels and then He shall reward every man according to 
his works. " 

Rev. 22 : 12 : " And behold I come quickly and my re- 
ward is with me to give every man according as his 
works shall be." 

Miller seems to have answered his critics temperately. 
The following is his response to some criticisms current 
at the time — one of them this comment of Prof. Moses 
Stuart on learning that the end of the world was to be on 



THE END OF THE WORLD 37 

April 3d : "I would respectfully suggest that in some 
way or other, they have made a small mistake as to the 
exact day of the month when the grand catastrophe 
takes place, the 1st day of April being evidently much 
more appropriate to their arrangements than any other 
day in the year ! " — 

Miller says : " My principles, in brief, are that Jesus Christ 
will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession 
of the same, with all His saints, some time between March 21, 
1843, and March 21, 1844. I have never, for the space of 
more than twenty-three years, had any other time preached or 
published by me ; I have never fixed on any month, day or 
hour, during that period ; . . . I have made no pro- 
vision for any other time ; I am perfectly satisfied that the 
Bible is true, and is the word of God, and I am confident that 
I rely wholly on the blessed book for my faith in this matter. 
I am not a prophet. I am not sent to prophesy, but to read, 
believe, and publish what God has inspired the ancient 
prophets to administer to us, in the prophecies of the Old and 
New Testaments. These have been, and now are, my prin- 
ciples, and I hope I shall never be ashamed of them. 

" As to worldly cares, I have had but very few for twelve years 
past. I have a wife and eight children ; I have great reason 
to believe they all are the children of God, and believers in the 
same doctrine with myself. I own a small farm in Low Hamp- 
ton, N. Y. ; my family support themselves upon it, and I be- 
lieve they are esteemed frugal, temperate, and industrious. 
They use hospitality without grudging, and never turn a pil- 
grim from the house, nor the needy from the door. I bless 
God that my family are benevolent and kind to all men who 
need their sympathy or aid ; I have no cares to manage, except 
my own individual wants ; I have no funds or debts due me 
of any amount; I 'owe no man anything'; and I have ex- 
pended more than two thousand dollars of my property in 
twelve years, besides what God has given me through the dear 
friends, in this cause." 

Many of the people who listened to him were low in the 
scale of mentality ; emotional, easily influenced by the 
supernatural, or any shadow of it, credulous to a degree. 



38 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

Some, of a stronger mental constitution, resisted his con- 
clusions but were staggered by his apparent facts. Some 
who did not believe were led to a sharp study of the Bible 
along the lines he laid down, following his texts in the 
Old and the New Testament in order to determine for 
themselves the truth or falsity of his position. Some 
were utterly incredulous and passed the whole matter by 
as unworthy of notice. 

It was among the class next to the last mentioned, those 
who did not believe and yet were ready to follow his ar- 
guments, that he made his strongest converts. For, if 
they would but study as he had studied and seek the light 
he found in the texts he gave them, — and this without 
other aid than the Bible itself and without a deep and 
critical knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew, — he knew 
they would logically land in his camp. Nor does it seem 
at all improbable that when fully fifty thousand people 
had espoused the new cause, some with fanatical zeal, 
some with simple and devout faith that they were to see 
the face of the Saviour, some because of intellectual con- 
viction, — it does not seem strange, — such a movement 
deeply impressed itself upon the other thousands who 
could not but see what a great event would be at hand in 
case this man, following in the footsteps of greater men, 
had indeed hit upon the day and the hour of the coming 
of the Christ. 

It might fairly be said that, on the face of it, granting 
his premises to be sound, Miller had proved his case. 

Moses Craig, Austin's father, became deeply interested 
in the movement. He was far too shrewd and keen a 
man to be befogged by any speculative mists, but, once 
facts for a statement were adduced, he was eager to prove 
these facts, and, if sound, accept the conclusions they led 
to. The excitement which was nearing its height when 
Austin entered college had its influence upon his father j 



THE END OF THE WORLD 39 

it could not be otherwise. No doubt a subtler and deeper 
influence was exerted upon thousands who apparently 
paid no attention to the movement than even they would 
have been willing to admit. The father had heard Miller 
preach, had looked up many of the Scriptural references, 
had studied much the general scheme. But he sought 
definite facts ; so we find him in his letters to his son ask- 
ing the son, from his larger field of knowledge, to prove 
or disprove. 

The young man, even though he had made no profes- 
sion of religion at the time of entrance upon college, was 
by nature devout and reverent and .open to the truth. 
Like his father, this truth must not be bound by man- 
made tenets nor circumscribed by man-placed limitations. 
It is not improbable, that the father, in the strong love 
of his heart, may have seen an opportunity in the excite- 
ment then so rife to impress solemn things upon the son, 
to cause the son to ask himself, If the Christ is coming, 
am I ready for Him ? 

Among the letters written to the young collegian on 
the subject and which have been preserved are those 
from other friends making enquiry as to his views, ad- 
vancing opinion, trying to overturn the cold facts which 
he presented to them in exchange for their warmer, but 
less logical, emotions. So that, taking it all together, 
the year 1842-43 found him in the very vortex of a 
mighty excitement when men and women all around him 
were making ready for the great end of all. 

A very warm college friend, remaining a friend through- 
out his life, Robert J. Wright, before mentioned, who 
afterwards became known by his writings upon social 
science, in a letter written from Philadelphia, in April, 
1842, during their vacation, went somewhat into detail 
as to the whole subject, and an extract from the letter 
will be of interest here, as showing how deeply and 



40 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

powerfully the whole subject had taken hold upon think- 
ing men. In the letter he says: 

" I have been studying Millerism a little and chronology a 
great deal this vacation. I have read no books on the subject 
but Josephus and the Bible and some little of the Septuagint. 
I will say something about the chronology first and then of the 
second advent in 1843. Of the age of Terah when he begat 
Abram (Genesis 11 : 26), the only parallel passage of similar 
construction I know is Genesis 5 : 32. Shem is first mentioned 
in this, Abram in that, and therefore if it can be proved Noah 
was 500 when he begat Shem, we conclude Terah was about 
seventy when he begat Abram. Now, Noah was 600 at the 
Mood, two years after which Shem begat Arphaxad. Noah was 
602 when Shem begat Arphaxad, but Shem, at that time, was 
100 (Genesis 11 : 10). Noah was 600 — 100=500 when he 
begat Shem. Therefore we conclude Terah was about seventy 
when he begat Abram. 

" The other view of the case is 205 — 75=130 as the age of 
Terah when he begat Abram. But this is not probable ; for 
why would Abram laugh when a son was promised him at 
ninety-nine if his father had begat him at 130 ? We conclude 
either Terah was not 205 when he died or Acts 7 : 4 must be a 
mistake. But Josephus and the Septuagint also say Terah died 
aged 205 ; — we conclude Acts 7 : 4 is a mistake. Probably 
an error had been made in transcribing the manuscript and the 
verse should read 'when his father was dead.' This would 
seem very probable as Haran did die before his father, and 
Abram took Nahor's son Lot with him when he went into 
Canaan. 

"To go into details would take too long, so I would merely 
say : I make sixty years less than you on this part, three more 
than you in Samuel's time, eight less in Anarchy and Chursan, 
one less in Jehoram (perhaps), and no interregnum of eleven 
years, so that the difference between us would be — 60-J-3 — 8 — 
1 — 11 — 77 years ; so that, accordingly, the world's age would 
be 6002 — 77=5925 years in the year 1843. 

"On Millerism in general I would say what I said at a de- 
bating society not long since on the question, Whether the 
Second Advent Doctrine as taught by Miller is in accordance 
with reason and Scripture, — I think that the arguments in its 
favour are not clearly tenable except the 2300 years. The 



THE END OF THE WORLD 41 

others will do as accessory evidence when the other is estab- 
lished, but will not do alone to support the doctrine. Well, 
then, to the main doctrine : The arguments that the main 
sanctuary will be cleansed 2300 years after 457 b. c. are so 
strong that I have not as yet met with a single weighty and 
valid objection, not one that would be at the same time weighty 
and valid. While the argument in its favour is very plausible, 
and if the word translated < determined ' means in Hebrew 
(not Chaldee), cut off, — if so, the argument in its favour 
amounts almost to a mathematical demonstration. 

" Meanwhile, let us be strong in the Lord and He will care 
for us. I have not yet studied the Mohammedan prophecies 
and am unable to render opinion." 

Passing from such a letter as this from a dear friend, 
a scholarly young man, one in whom he had confidence, 
one who was, plainly enough, preparing himself for the 
coming of the last day, to a letter written to him by his 
sixteen-year-old sister, or rather to excerpts from two 
letters, we shall see how strong and varied the influence 
of Millerism. The letter is dated Peapack, New Jersey, 
November 15, 1843. 

"On the 7th our father and myself," the letter quaintly 
says, "started for Trenton. We reached Princeton about sun- 
set and saw the college, theological seminary, and several other 
large buildings. The college library will be a very pretty 
building when it is finished. It is built of a reddish brown col- 
oured stone in the Gothic style. On Sunday morning we went 
to Newark to hear Mr. Miller preach on the Second Advent. 
He explained the sixteenth chapter of Revelation where it 
speaks of the seven angels with their vials of wrath. The first 
angel poured his vial upon the earth. By the earth we are to 
understand the Kingdom of the Beast or Romish government. 
This vial began to be poured out on the Romish church about 
the year a. d. 1529, under the preaching of Luther, Calvin, 
and others who exposed and opposed the corruptions of the 
church of Rome. 

" 'And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea 
and it became as the blood of a dead man and every living soul 



42 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

died in the sea.' The sea, in prophetic language, is the centre 
of some great nation or society of men. The ' living soul ' 
denotes those persons who have been born of the spirit and are 
in possession of that living faith in God and love for all men. 
The ' blood of a dead man ' denotes a massacre in cold blood 
without any resistance upon the part of those murdered. This 
vial was then poured out in France, — the principal kingdom in 
the Roman ten horns,— in the year A. D. 1572, at the massacre 
of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Eve when 50,000 were 
slain in one night and the streets ran blood, as Sully tells us, 
in some places ankle-deep. 

*' ' And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers 
and fountains of water and they became blood.' By rivers 
and fountains of water we are to understand the nations who 
lived around the central sea ; blood denotes destructive war. 
This vial was poured out about the year 1630. 

' * ' And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun and 
power was given him to scorch men with fire.' The sun in 
prophetic language is an emblem of the Gospel. To ' scorch 
men with fire ' signifies to make men angry ; great heat means 
uncommonly angry. This vial was poured out in the past cen- 
tury. 

" 'And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of 
the Beast and his Kingdom was full of darkness and they 
gnawed their tongues for pain and blasphemed the God of 
heaven because of their pain and their sores and repented not 
of their deeds.' The 'seat of the beast ' must mean those ten 
kingdoms on which the woman sitteth, which is Rome. ■ Full 
of darkness ' must mean full of wickedness, confusion, and 
every evil work. ' Gnawed their tongues for pain ' showed 
shame, disgrace, and disappointment. This vial was poured 
out in the French Revolution about 1798. In this revolution 
among the Roman kingdoms under this vial, the Bastile was 
demolished, the Inquisition destroyed, the torture suppressed, 
and the power of the Papal clergy restrained. 

" ' And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great 
river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up that the 
way of the kings of Esau might be prepared.' The river 
Euphrates means in prophecy the people of the countries border- 
ing on that river and of course refers to the Turkish power. 
' Water thereof was dried up ' is an emblem of the power and 
strength of that kingdom being taken away. This vial was 



THE END OF THE WORLD 43 

poured out on Turkey by the loss of a great share of the 
empire. * And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast 
and out of the mouth of the false prophet.' ' Three unclean 
spirits,' — by this we must understand three wicked principles. 
' Frogs ' show us that it is political. ' Mouth ' denotes orders 
or commands. The < dragon ' is a figure of the kings of the 
earth. The ' Beast ' represents Papacy and ' the false prophet ' 
Mohometanism. Mr. Miller says the millennium will come in 
1843. But whether it comes or not, we are commanded to be 
ready, and it would well become a Christian people to do so." 

A few months later : 

"Rev. I. C. Goff preached last evening from Romans thirteenth 
chapter and eleventh verse. To-night, to-morrow night, and 
Sunday he lectures on the near approach of the Second Advent. 
He is firm in the belief that the Lord will come this year. He 
said a praying man near Patterson went out one morning into 
the woods to work. He was expected back at noon but did not 
come. His family were somewhat alarmed on account of his 
staying so long, and about sunset they went for him. They 
found him on his knees in the woods, his eyes set towards 
heaven. They took him to the house and with some difficulty 
brought him to again. When he got so that he could speak, he 
told them he had seen a vision and in six days he would die 
and on the 15 th day of this month the Saviour would come and 
destroy the wicked and take the righteous home to glory. 
Precisely six days from that time he did die, but whether the 
other part of his vision will be fulfilled, I know not ; time alone 
will show. However, be that time sooner or later, it is best to 
be prepared and I pray that we may stand uncondemned before 
our Great Judge and that when we are weighed in the balances 
we may not be found wanting. 

" Mother sends her love." 

In the same letter, and this again illustrates the in- 
fluences of many kinds brought to bear upon impression- 
able minds, his father added a few pages in which, after 
he had multiplied Biblical quotations bearing upon the 
subject, he said : 



44: LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

" It seems to me the righteous are to inherit a new heaven 
and a new earth. Just ponder this (the elaborate references) 
over in your own mind and don't hand it out as all that can be 
said till you hear from me again. There can be a great deal 
said on both sides of all these questions, a great many passages 
of Scripture that seem to form the two views of the sub- 
ject. 

"The excitement on the subject is increasing. I want you 
to be continually on your watch ; let not evil overtake you. 
Begin and end every day by commending yourself to God. The 
chronology I do not look so much at as the fact of the 2300 
days, or years, of the visions, and then the time that the decree 
went forth to restore and build Jerusalem. The margin of the 
Bible says 457 years before Christ; I suppose history says the 
same. Read towards the last of Daniel concerning the seventy 
weeks, etc., take 457 from 2300 leaves 1843; then the sanctuary 
is to be cleaned. The whole world seems to be rousing up to 
this subject. We do not know what a day, may bring forth. 
Goff says this is the last time he will ever meet his Christian 
friends in this place in the flesh. Keep this to yourself." 



Letter follows letter after this from the father to the 
son reviewing elaborate arguments as they were presented 
by various ministers, and recounting in detail events as 
they developed. 

The young college student was well balanced. He did 
not allow these varied influences to in any way unduly 
bias him. He was serious in his consideration of all the 
points raised and, in common with many others who 
looked on and who could not ignore the apparent sound- 
ness of the arguments, was impressed by the tremendous 
excitement of the hour, was made more reverent by the 
contemplation of a possible end to the existing order. In 
a story written by Dr. Edward Eggleston, ' ' The End of 
the World," published some thirty-five years ago, in 
which the coming of this end in 1843 forms the back- 
ground of the tale, the author speaks thus of the influence 



THE END OF THE WORLD 45 

the excitement had upon others than those who believed 
the end was coming : 

" The assured belief of the believers had a great effect on 
others. The dreadful drawing on of the set day produced an 
effect in some regions absolutely awful. An eminent divine, at 
that time a pastor in Boston, has told me that the leaven of 
Adventism permeated all religious bodies, and that he himself 
could not avoid the fearful sense of waiting for some catastrophe 
— the impression that all this expectation of people must have 
some significance." 

In a letter written from college when the excitement 
was at white heat the boy agreed with his father that one 
of the ministers who had been preaching at Peapack and 
vicinity did appear to prove, from his basis, that the 
second coming of Christ in 1843 was very plausible. 

" It all rests," he writes to his parents and sister, "upon the 
difference of the hundred and fifty years which Miller makes in 
his chronology. Although Miller's theory may be true, and I 
grant that his proofs are strong, yet is it not almost absurd to 
suppose that the difference of a century and a half should have 
eluded the observation of men much his superior in learning 
and talent ? And is it not particularly so when we consider 
that Newton and all other eminent chronologists have had pre- 
cisely the same means for ascertaining the world's age that 
Miller possesses ? And, further, the learned of all ages have 
concurred with Newton who is the author of the chronology 
now generally received. 

" In my opinion, there must be a great political change before 
the millennium. The principle that the people are capable of 
self-government must be carried into effect. Democracy must 
triumph over monarchy, and the existing institutions of tyranny 
be thrown down. In how many countries has this been per- 
fectly carried into effect? Scarcely one. America stands 
alone on the list of democratical governments. It is generally 
admitted that education is necessary in a self-governing people, 
and it is well known that, as a general thing, the common peo- 
ple of the monarchies of Europe are most deplorably ignorant. 



46 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

For example, see the examinations of the colliers in England 
and of the Germans at Millville, on the contested elections. 
These may be taken as a fair sample of the education of the 
common people in the two principal kingdoms of Europe. 

" If, then, education is necessary to free government, and 
the subversion of monarchy and the institution of republicanism 
are to take place before the millennium, who shall decide when 
Christ shall make His second advent ? Are the deeply-rooted 
prejudices of the present ignorant generation of Europe to be 
done away and just and enlightened views to be substituted in 
their place in the short space of six months ? Or is it possible 
at all to make that generation enlightened sufficiently for the 
purpose of self-government ? Common sense would say, No. 
The children may indeed be educated, but their fathers are too 
firmly bound by the shackles of ignorance and superstition to 
render it practicable. It, however, stands all in hand to be 
prepared, whether the millennium comes or not." 

In other letters lie had propounded various puzzling 
questions as to the topic uppermost in all minds and these 
his father had attempted to answer ; or, not feeling com- 
petent in certain instances, had turned them over to some 
minister to answer. Needless to say, the response from 
some of the ministers of the day was not such as would 
be of a convincing character to one who was so much bet- 
ter prepared and who weighed all with the balances of 
logic and fact. One long letter to Austin though written 
on only three pages of paper yet containing over two 
thousand words, goes into an exhaustive effort to show 
the young man the error of his ways. Indications of 
irritation on the part of the writer appear, as though, 
possibly, he had not been quite satisfied himself that he 
was able to cope with the younger man. This latter is 
suggested also by his conclusion of the letter : 

" Thus I have thrown together a few (!) remarks embracing 
my views, in order for your reflection and profit withal, hoping 
you will examine the right side of this business. I think if a 



THE END OF THE WOKLD 47 

friend has not the moral courage to make his views known to 
another there can't be much friendship. By starting on a 
wrong course and being surrounded by flatterers, etc., etc., on 
account of his talents, education, etc., and no one to cross his 
path, by and by a young man may be led to think that he is 
certainly correct ; whereas if he were treated more honestly by 
his friends it would be better for him. It sets him thinking." 

Doubtless the reference to talents and so on was drawn 
out by the fact that at the time this letter was written, in 
1844, Austin had begun to preach somewhat in the interim 
before final graduation, and he was so well and favourably- 
received, and his addresses were so powerful and so little 
like the current preaching of uneducated men, it would be 
but natural that jealousies should arise on the part of 
some of the older ones who had not had such advantages 
as he had had and who were not so talented. 

Hour by hour as the middle of the summer of 1843 ap- 
proached the excitement deepened. The 11th of August 
had been set by some as the day. The excitement spread 
far and wide. Many believing that the end was at hand, 
and seeing no further need of their personal belongings, 
gave away houses and lands, saving out only enough 
money to tide them over to the last great day. Some who 
were of a highly organized nervous nature went hope- 
lessly insane. Yery many men and women made robes, 
some ( of white, some of purple, in which to garb them- 
selves for the last hour. An island in the Connecticut 
Eiver was selected by one band of the faithful from which 
to ascend into heaven, and thither they went as the day 
approached. In Ohio there were bands of men and 
women ready to go up to the highest hilltop. In por- 
tions of New York and Pennsylvania, in Maine, and 
other of the Eastern States other men and women were 
satisfied that to mount the tops of their houses, or 
barns, — theirs now no longer as the day of the Lord was 



48 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

coming and they had divested themselves of worldly 
goods, — would be the proper place to be located. Added 
to the other signs a huge comet appeared in the heavens 
of which one man, writing to Austin in response to a re- 
quest from his father that he seek light on the comet, 
discoursed as follows : 

"This magnificent visitor at about seven o'clock p. m. ap- 
pears in the west stretching over seventy or eighty degrees of 
the heavens. His nucleus is too near the sun's rays to be visi- 
ble yet, being below the horizon. The moon's light obscures 
his splendour very much, but nevertheless his appearance is 
most sublime. Were the moon absent he would present one of 
the most sublime spectacles the eye ever rested upon. His ap- 
pearance is that of an immensely long and broad ray of light, 
which like a luminous vapour spreads across the southwestern 
heavens intersecting the horizon at an angle of about thirty de- 
grees. 

" Whether he be approaching near to our planet at this time 
or not, I have not the means of determining. If he revolve, as 
he most probably does, in his orbit in the same direction around 
his great master, the sun, as our planet does, we are now re- 
ceding from him at the rate of about a thousand miles a minute. 
But this speed, were he in direct pursuit, would avail us very 
little against his tremendous velocity. One thing is most cer- 
tain that this celebrated visitor is now a much nearer neighbour 
to our planet than any that has ever appeared. 

" Now when we think of all the signs that have occurred 
within the last twelve years, not including this comet, is it not 
fair to argue from this that Miller's suppositions are correct? 
Is not this the comet that is to destroy the world ? The world, 
the Bible very plainly says, is to be destroyed by fire. This 
comet is certainly made of fire, judging from his appearance. 
Astronomers assert there are not as many planets within the 
last century as there used to be, a great many have disap- 
peared, and there is every reason to believe that, their time 
having run out, they have been destroyed by comets." 

A volume might be written descriptive of the strange 
incidents that accompanied the preparation for the main 
event. In one New York town where there were many 



THE END OF THE WOKLD 49 

Millerites, on the night of the end-to-be the people who 
were to ascend put on loose white robes over their other 
clothing. Around their waists they fixed heavy leathern 
belts by which they hoped to facilitate their ascension, 
the belts being for the purpose of affording ease in lifting 
them ! In the town there was a boys' school and some of 
the young rascals swung ropes from the limbs of the 
trees, these ropes having pendant hooks. On the ap- 
pearance of a party ready for ascension, a grand rush 
would be made, the hook would be slipped into the belt, 
the rope would be pulled taut, and in a trice the victim 
would be dangling in the air. Violent indignation was 
expressed, particularly after the night when it appeared 
rather certain that the end had not yet arrived, and there 
was still opportunity for righteous wrath to assume a 
worldly attitude. One woman in the vicinity, type of 
the ultra- fanatical already noted, had made herself a 
complete wedding-robe in which to meet the bridegroom. 
When the morning came she drowned herself in a well. 

A well-known follower of Miller announced on the 
22d of December of the year 1843 that Jesus Christ was 
that very day within forty-five miles of the earth just 
above the atmosphere, but that He could not be seen on 
account of its density. He was there judging the world 
and would soon be on the earth to execute this judgment. 
Commenting on this the editor of the Gospel Herald said : 

"When we look at the reckless course pursued by Miller, 
Marsh, Himes & Co., and the determination to carry out the 
principles of their humbugging, and persist in hoodwinking 
and practicing deceptions upon the world, bewildering the 
minds of those disposed to favour the marvellous, causing 
divisions in churches, creating the most unpleasant feelings in 
families and neighbourhoods, calling upon all to come out of 
Babylon, dethroning reason, sending scores to lunatic asylums, 
adding to the numbers in almshouses, causing hundreds who 
were in good circumstances, to give away all their property, 



50 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CBAIG 

and money, and now they are poor and destitute ; and assum- 
ing the power of the Pope, to sit in judgment on the con- 
sciences of their brethren, regarding them as wicked and 
ignorant; — we regard this system as one of the most flagrant 
productions of error and delusion that ever came under our 
notice — one that contradicts the plainest passages of the Bible, 
perverts the prophecies, wrongly applies the sayings of Jesus 
Christ. And yet, after time has proven them all false prophets, 
given the lie to the leading principles of their system, and 
placed them where they are looked upon with derision and 
disgust, they still persevere in their unhallowed crusade against 
all who profess the name of Christ, as they say they are just 
upon the very time, and Christ will surely be here. 

"They have changed 'The Midnight Cry' to 'The Morn- 
ing Watch,' and in a short time it will no doubt be changed to 
'The Noonday Sentinel,' that they may still practice deception 
upon the ignorant and credulous. Some one will say we only 
make assertions and prove nothing. We answer it is no use to 
present Scriptural argument or rational reasoning. They have 
been written down and all their arguments answered a thousand 
times. They have been driven from the forum of debate with 
shame and confusion of face, they have been confounded pub- 
licly and privately ; the whole world has decided against them ; 
time has written their epitaph ; God and the Bible have always 
been against them; and yet goaded to desperation they are 
determined to push on in locomotive style; while they can 
find fools enough to bow to their blind god and throw their all 
into the sacred treasury they will go on." 

Picturesque indeed is the following description of a 
meeting of those who looked for the second coming of 
Christ ; it is from the pen of John G. Whittier, the poet : 

"Three or four years ago, on my way eastward, I spent an 
hour or two at a camp-ground of the Second Advent in East 
Kingston. The spot was well chosen. A tall growth of pine 
and hemlock threw its melancholy shadow over the multitude, 
who were arranged upon rough seats of boards and logs. Sev- 
eral hundred — perhaps a thousand — people were present, and 
more were rapidly coming. Drawn about in a circle, forming 
a background of snowy whiteness to the dark masses of men 
and foliage, were the white tents, and back of them the pro- 



THE END OF THE WORLD 51 

vision stalls and cook shops. When I reached the ground, a 
hymn, the words of which I could not distinguish, was pealing 
through the dim aisles of the forest. I know nothing of music, 
having neither ear nor taste for it ; but I could readily see that 
it had its effect upon the multitude before me, kindling to 
higher intensity their already excited enthusiasm. The preachers 
were placed in a rude pulpit of rough boards, carpeted only by 
the dead forest leaves and flowers, and tasselled, not with silk 
and velvet, but with the green boughs of the sombre hemlocks 
around it. One of them followed the music in an earnest ex- 
hortation on the duty of preparing for the great event. Occa- 
sionally he was really eloquent, and his description of the last 
day had all the terrible distinctness of Anelli's painting of the 
'End of the World.' 

"Suspended from the front of the rude pulpit were two 
broad sheets of canvas, upon one of which was the figure of 
a man — the head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the 
belly of brass, the legs of iron, and feet of clay — the dream of 
Nebuchadnezzar ! On the other were depicted the wonders of 
the Apocalyptic vision — the beasts — the dragon — the scarlet 
woman seen by the seer of Patmos — oriental types and figures 
and mystic symbols translated into stirring Yankee realities, 
and exhibited like the beasts of a travelling menagerie. One 
horrible image, with its hideous heads and scaly caudal ex- 
tremity, reminded me of the tremendous line of Milton, who, in 
speaking of the same evil dragon, describes him as 

" ' Swinging the scaly horrors of his folded tail.' 

"To an imaginative mind the scene was full of novel inter- 
est. The white circle of tents — the dim wood arches — the 
upturned, earnest faces — the loud voices of the speakers, bur- 
dened with the awful symbolic language of the Bible — the 
smoke from the fires rising like incense from forest altars — 
carrying one back to the days of primitive worship, when 

" ' The groves were God's first temples, ere men learned 
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, 
And stretch the roof above it.' " 

The appointed day came and with it such a condition 
of mingled terror, distress, fanatical exaltation, solemn 



52 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

and devout submission, and emotional insanity, one were 
about to call it, as perhaps had not been seen on the 
earth before. Even those of sound mind and steady- 
poise who had not accepted the new belief were dis- 
turbed mightily under the strain. 

When the fateful midsummer night passed and the 
earth did not see destruction, Miller set another date : — 
he had made a mistake in taking the Jewish year for the 
Roman, the end would be in 1844. The faithful largely 
held to him, but those who had looked askance, even 
while they could not but be aroused by the awesome pos- 
sibility of his being right, went on their way. One 
woman among his most devout followers went to Pales- 
tine, it is said, to be ready to meet the Lord there on the 
24th of October, 1844, the new date. When both the 
fateful years had passed Miller called a general conven- 
tion of the faithful, meeting in Albany, New York, and 
there was adopted a declaration of belief, and the name 
Adventists was chosen to designate his followers. Miller 
died in 1849, leaving, in spite of the failure of his 
prophecy, a reputation among his followers for sincerity 
and honest manhood. 

In the thick volume of letters which Austin preserved, 
written to him during the period 1843-48, none appear 
from his father after midsummer of 1843, bearing upon 
Millerism. It was plain that while Moses Craig had been 
deeply interested in the movement, as many another sane 
and devout man had been, once he saw the fallacy of the 
argument, he rejected it. How much the calm and dis- 
passionate letters of the son had to do with this does not 
appear, but doubtless they had their bearing, for the 
father had come to place great reliance upon the judg- 
ment of the son. 

There are no letters to show how the young man passed 
the momentous night in which the Saviour of the world 



THE END OF THE WOELB 53 

was to come with shining angels ; but if we are to judge 
by his steady and normal course through the years that 
were to follow, and by his calm and dispassionate con- 
sideration of the day-by-day events leading up to the 
hour, we may conclude that his sleep was sound and that 
he awoke the next morning not more deeply in earnest in 
his determination to give his life in service to the world 
than he would have been had he not just passed through 
one of the most tremendous seasons of excitement that 
ever swept over a nation. Nor is it likely he saw any 
more clearly his line of duty ; for he had already made up 
his mind to devote his life to the preaching, and the 
teaching, of the Word and to it had given himself with 
the solemn consecration that is not born of fanaticism, 
nor emotionalism, nor the wild frenzy of fear. 



IV 

HIS EARLY PREACHING 

AS naturally as the needle seeks the pole the young 
man was drawn by the great magnet of the 
Church. All the home surroundings which at 
first seemed to make so little religious impression upon 
him, all the influence brought to bear by those who saw 
in his talents, his learning, his devout nature, the stuff 
of which great preachers are made, all the long months 
of the tense excitement of the Millerite movement would 
have had no effect upon so staunch and self-reliant a na- 
ture as his if he had not felt within himself the overmas- 
tering call to service. Once in later years a young man 
wrote him regarding the ministry as a profession asking, 
" Do you think, from what I have written you, that I 
would be a success in this work ? " 

Swift and to the point came the answer ; in it we may 
see Austin Craig as he began his work : 

" I do not know. But it seems safe to say this, Don't en- 
ter the ministry unless, in some way, you feel the call of the 
Lord unto you. If you do feel yourself called by Him, then 
give yourself to the work because the Lord has called you, and 
be not uneasy about the 'success.' Faithfulness is your busi- 
ness ; the success is the Lord's concern. If you are in doubt 
about your ' call,' give the Lord the benefit of the doubt, and 
try His work in some way for a while. Perhaps you could go 
out with some minister as Mark went with Barnabas and 
Timothy with Paul, — the result might make you see your ' call ' 
clearly. 

"But does it not seem a half-selfish thing at best for a man 
to hesitate over a great duty for fear he might not be * a suc- 

54 



HIS EAKLY PREACHING 55 

cess ' ? . . . Consider not whether you will succeed, but 
consider whether the Lord has a work for you to do. If you 
don't yet feel sure about it, you can get more light by appeal- 
ing to the Lord Himself. . . . Without love to the Lord, 
no man can be ' a success ' in any part of the Gospel ministry. 
I would not so much care what else the young man might seem 
to lack if evidently Jesus had breathed upon him. With that 
flame in him he will win souls, he will edify the Church, he 
will be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. 

" What a mistake it is to bring into the ministry a man who 
has only ordinary piety, little manifest love to Christ, slight 
concern for his fellow men. Though he may charm his hearers 
by his eloquence and gain the favour of multitudes, he cannot 
be a lasting benefit, — converting men from the error of their 
ways and saving their souls from death, — unless by his spirit 
and his teaching he shows himself 'approved unto God.' He 
enters the ministry for harm to others and for woe to himself 
who enters with a motive that God cannot approve, who enters 
for ease, for applause, for gain. 

" In selecting topics of his discourses he must beware of in- 
dulging the passion for novelty, to catch the fancy of the 
people. He must in sobriety of spirit choose topics in his most 
prayerful, earnest, sober seasons, topics 'approved unto God.' 
He must not decline a topic through fear of losing the favour 
of his hearers if he deals faithfully with their souls. He is not 
to study to please men, to conform his teachings to the senti- 
ments of his hearers, to approve himself unto the influential, 
the wealthy, the great of the world ; — he is to conform his 
teaching to the word of truth, to study to show himself ap- 
proved of God. Every minister ought to be a teacher fitted to 
instruct the people on the various questions touching the wel- 
fare of the town or community, the school, the city, the admin- 
istration of the government, the education of the youth, the 
purification and guidance and welfare of the people. The man 
who has most wisdom and most love will in all these great in- 
terests be most useful to man and most acceptable to God, and 
most happy." 



This concise statement might well be adopted as the 
sermon-making creed of every young preacher. 

Before he had yet finished college life, Austin Craig 



56 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

began, in 1843, to preach occasional sermons, now in small 
country churches, now in dwelling-houses far from all 
places of public worship, now in larger towns where he 
met more metropolitan audiences. The life of an itiner- 
ant preacher in this region of the East, now so far re- 
moved from any suggestion of the frontier, was not one 
constant round of gaiety and ease. It was serious busi- 
ness starting out to preach in those days. It meant toil, 
physical as well as mental ; sacrifice in many ways ; ex- 
posure to inclement, and frequently dangerous, weather ; — 
its wage was little or nothing. He who entered upon 
it, — be he a youth fresh from college trying his wings, or 
some unlettered man who had felt ' a call ' and whose 
chief assets were a powerful voice, a rude, commanding 
eloquence, a smattering of theology, and a Bible, — found 
it beset with many annoyances and sown thick with dis- 
couragements. 

When Austin Craig entered upon this new field of 
labour long before he accepted his first formal call to a 
church, three things, among others, were conspicuous, — 
his absolute clarity of thought, knowing precisely what 
he wished to say and saying it so that his hearers should 
know just what he meant ; a keen and unfailing judgment 
of the type and general character, as well as the needs, of 
the particular people to whom he was speaking, and, 
third, the gentlest tolerance of the views of others. All 
through his life these steadily developed and they ever 
formed a splendid background of his public career. 

In the year 1843 he preached his first regular sermon 
in his father's house in Peapack, New Jersey, choosing 
for his text : " Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be 
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Ghost" (Acts 2 : 38). 

At the session of the Christian conference of New 



HIS EAELY PKEACHING 57 

Jersey, held the following year, he was received as a 
member and licensed to preach, and soon after he was 
ordained to the ministry. 

As he went about preaching from place to place he met 
many of the older men of the Christian denomination to 
which he had turned, drawn by the simplicity and direct- 
ness of its scheme of belief. A large number of these 
men were densely ignorant, vague in their knowledge of 
the Bible, misty in their theology, but, withal, for the 
most part, honest to a degree, shrewd and earnest, many 
of them endowed with unmistakable talents. Not a few 
of them, in spite of themselves, grew sadly jealous of this 
powerful new figure among them, because of the learning 
which he brought to his service, because he had great 
effectiveness in presenting the truth in ways wholly for- 
eign to, and wholly beyond, their cruder practices. 

But in his relations to them he was ever considerate 
and kindly ; never ostentatious, nor patronizing, nor con- 
descending j ever quick to see their faults and help them 
in private ; ever honest and unsparing in his criticism 
whenever one asked him as many a one did, What is the 
matter with my sermons 1 for this man was possessed of 
a virile pen that could be wielded on occasion with pow- 
erful effect. It took gentleness and tact, tact of a high 
order, on the part of this slender stripling of a fellow 
not yet out of college, to stand before some stalwart, griz- 
zled, consecrated, bumptious pulpit-pounder and show 
him how to preach. But he did it all fearlessly and, best 
of all, he did that which he did to the last day of his life, 
he won these men to him in love and held them as with 
bands of steel. 

Frequently letters came to him from those who had but 
sipped of the cup of knowledge bewailing their ignorance, 
asking him to interpret certain cloudy passages, begging 
for judgment on their position or criticism of their ef- 



58 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

forts. Many were the times when, in the midst of the 
most wearing and exacting toil, for he was carrying on 
deep studies of his own the while, he would take up an 
obscure text sent him by some old preacher who did not 
know how to handle it, dissect it, point out its various 
logical steps, and suggest the arrangement of the whole 
sermon from firstly to lastly. Many a time the extra 
effort in answering these requests — amounting, practi- 
cally, to a writing of the sermon for the applicant, en- 
croached heavily upon his strength, drawing him far on 
into the dead of the night before he would be able to 
complete the work. 

Here, for example, is a verbatim extract from a letter 
written to the young student — a letter which brought 
forth a painstaking and splendidly prepared answer : it 
was written by a veteran in the denomination, well known 
as a preacher of force, whose hearers would scarce expect 
that he had availed himself of such a service from an- 
other man. The extract follows : 

"I want to ask a favour of you. The 22 of Revelation 2 
virs. Will you disect that text in all its parts ? Take both 
virses if you pleas, 1 and 2d. What is the river of The tree 
of life. The twelve manner of fruit & Co. Will you favour 
me with your view in full on the subject written in the Stile of 
sermon, if it takes two sheets of paper or more, let us have it, 
I'll gladly pay the postage on it. Does it require omnipotent 
power to create ? I would like to have your views on this sub- 
ject. For my part I think it does not and I have good reason 
for not thinking so that it does, but still My view may be 
rong. 

"Austin, is it a fact That because was anxious to 

kiss a Girl 14. or 15. years ago, That the Peapack Church is 
now destitute of preaching ? And lacking in Sympathy and 
love? Bub, don't you think your report rather lame ? When 
I go out among our folks I am asked When is your bro Craig 
coming up to pay you visit. 

" I don't know that it would be news to you to say that it's 



HIS EAELY PKEACHING 59 

tremendous hot weather. Yesterday I had a regular Pulpit 
Scald. I'll tell you how it happened. The Baptist had no 
meeting (Their minister being sick) so they came to our meet- 
ing. And they with our own congregation filled our meeting 
House to over-flowing. I had (as Wagoner would say) a free 
time. The steam was up and you know how it goes when 
such is the case. In the afternoon I held a meeting in a 
School-House. We had a warrae, heavenly melting time. 
After preaching we had a good prayer-meeting and I have 
a fond hope i that My yesterds labour's will be productive of 
some good. Pleas to rember me to your Father's family." 

Another letter contains this : 

"The subjects upon which you treated in your letter to me 
are mighty, they are of deep importance, they are instructive, 
and most heartily do I thank you for the hints and the sketch you 
have sent. I like your reasoning on the New Birth. I shall 
shape the sketch you sent into a sermon and preach it to my 
congregation and they will receive the truths therein ; — but 
perhaps they would not have done so a year ago." 



There was one quaint old minister with whom Austin 
dearly loved to keep up a correspondence, because of the 
pithy nature of his views of men and affairs ; because, 
too, in his correspondence he was able to do the old 
preacher many a good turn in the way of sermon-suggest- 
ing or, in some cases, well-nigh, sermon-preparing. 
"While he was giving one congregation whom he was 
temporarily supplying some quite strong meat the old 
man wrote him thus — the extract of the letter must go in 
its original form : 

" I must confess that you are one of the plainest kind of 
preachers judging from the sketch you was kind enough to send 
me But though your remarks were very pointed I am shure 
that non can take offence at You for I know yours to be a 
kind spirit and you look so tremendous innocent that they will 
love & respect you the more for your honisty and cander. You 



60 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

have given me a rich and racy discription of their mode of 
worship but a mode as I think not very congenial with your 
unsophisticated mind. Pleas explane to me if you can how it 
is that a people who go in so strong for what You call anamal 
excitement should be so fond of makeing a parade in showing 
off their finery? I don't understand it. I always thought 
that people who considered themselves ' the refined ' were ap- 
posed to animal excitement but it appears that the people go in 
for show and excitement too, but I suppose you will show them 
the iniquity of the one and the folly of the other before you 
leave them. Austin, stay as long there is any prospect of 
your doing good if they use you well and you can stand it. 

" Don't preach too much. I fear that three times a day is 
too often for you. Well Bub I pray that you may do great 

good in or any were else were duty may call you and 

live many years to see the fruits of your labours of love. Old 

Mr. H of Finesville has thrown away his cain and taken a 

Wife." 

Amusing indeed is this excerpt from a letter from one 
of his old friends in the ministry : 

" One week, last Sabbath, I held forth from John 3:3. I 
presented the great truths you sent me in the sketch of your 
sermon from that text. I need not tell you that it was well got 
off, but I will say the doctrine was well received. The people 
say they would like to have it sent to the Palladium for publica- 
tion. I told them I did not think that our good old Father 
Hazen would insert it in his paper for fear that the orthodox 
would not like it. But then they wanted to know what the 
orthodox had to do with our paper ? But even if he would 
print it I could not have sent it until I had consulted the 
author and he was in Fall River ! If you have any notion that 
I should try Hazen in reference to publishing a short sketch of 
a sermon, why throw it in shape and I will send it on and I 
will try him ; but the worst of it is it would have to appear 
under my name in order to keep up appearances here ! I hope 
to receive some more sketches on important points." 

" What am I to understand," in a later letter, "by ' e. g.' ? 
I have searched the grammar Greek and Latin phrases, but 
can't make it out. Do you mean by e. g., 'ergo,' therefore? 



HIS EAELY PEEACHING 61 

You may think I ought to know. Well, I ought to, I confess, 
but still I have to plead a lack of knowledge. ' ' 



During all the time that he was going from place to 
place preaching, he was not only carrying on much deep 
study but was keeping up an extensive correspondence 
on subjects bearing upon his future life-work. Between 
him and his friend, Eobert Wright, passed many letters 
full of the most minute and searching analysis not only of 
obscure passages of Greek but of questions of belief— of 
faith, sanctification, election, the judgment, baptism, 
eternal punishment and reward. They had both been 
outspoken in the class-room when they were at Lafayette 
together on any point which to them seemed out of har- 
mony. " Together they protested to the faculty," a 
friend of later years wrote, " against pagan text-books in 
the study of Greek and Latin. They could not under- 
stand why they should be required to store the memory 
with heathen mythology and fables rather than the writ- 
ings of Paul in order to obtain a knowledge of the Greek 
language. Hence the phrase, which will be recognized 
by the faculty and students of this institution of that 
time, 'New Testament Greek. 7 The remonstrance of the 
two young men was regarded by the faculty as presump- 
tuous, and somewhat in the nature of an innovation, if not 
insubordination. Since, however, Lafayette College has 
adopted the plan suggested by the two young students, 
and it obtains also, I believe, in other schools." 

In some of the letters that passed between him and 
Wright whole pages are given up to the consideration of 
a single text or a chapter bearing upon some particularly 
knotty point. The Greek text is liberally interwoven 
with the English in many of the letters. Both young 
men were being strongly influenced by the wave which 
was just then sweeping up against a hide-bound orthodoxy. 



62 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

In one of Wright's letters written from Philadelphia in 
July, 1844, he says : 

" I have been in so much trouble lately that I have not studied 
much in regard to anything but doubts as to the plenary in- 
spiration of the Scriptures, the doctrine of the trinity, justifica- 
tion by faith and the work of the Spirit, and my own course of 
conduct and pursuits in life. I do not think I could conscien- 
tiously rest unless I prepare myself to preach the Gospel ; but 
such are my doubts on many points that there is scarcely any 
denomination that would permit me to preach among them. 
To take a thorough course of study so as to settle those doubts 
will take so long that I want to get at some temporal employ- 
ment besides study until these doubts shall have been set at 
rest. . . . What are you driving at now and how do you 
feel — strong or weak in grace ? ' ' 



Very many other letters came to him, and were 
answered in kind, going into the most abstruse things in 
theology. One letter contained nothing save an elaborate 
attempt to answer points which Austin had hinted at in 
a previous letter, but it took four thousand words and 
more upon its four pages of paper to express the answer. 
Other letters to him were fully as long, some longer. 
Unquestionably out of this protracted epistolary discus- 
sion he derived much good, as it strengthened him in his 
course towards a sane and liberal, though never lax, be- 
lief ; but, at the same time, it all told heavily upon his 
strength. l i Do you sit up straight and take proper 
exercise, and is your health right good?" his father 
writes. " Be very cautious," he adds, having in mind 
the prevailing spread of liberalism. 1 1 With the in- 
nocence of a dove combine the wisdom of a serpent. 
Don't let your liberality for all denominations make you 
enemies so that, although you mean no harm, others 
might turn it to your disadvantage. You had better not 
go to the Catholic or any strange meetings more than 



HIS EARLY PREACHING 63 

once. You are young yet. Listen to the advice of riper 
years." 

Strong pressure was brought to bear, also, in these 
itinerant preaching days, when many heard him in dif- 
ferent parts of the states adjoining his own, to influence 
him to embrace the spirit and even the letter of orthodoxy. 
Sometimes this took the form of personal advice, some- 
times it came in the way of letters. Some of these letters 
contain thousands of words of argument to prove the 
sombre things of Calvinism. 

"You ask," writes one of these men who would keep the 
young preacher within their man made bounds, " ' Is election the 
result of repentance or the cause ? ' I would answer this in this 
way : God foreknew those who would repent. He deter- 
mined such as He would save, not simply because they repent 
alone but because He determined to save them. I cannot ex- 
plain the designs of God, my reason is too limited. You ask, 
' do I believe because I am God's elect or am I elect because I 
believe ? ' In answer to this, A man cannot believe unless he 
is one of God's elect nor is he one of the elect unless he be- 
lieves." 

In the midst of controversial writing that the answering 
of such letters entailed, with continual study of the original 
texts of the Old and New Testaments, with the prepara- 
tion of sermons and the making of long journeys, long 
and fatiguing particularly to one so frail, his time was 
filled to the utmost limit. There were compensations 
along the way and such as deeply appealed to his heart, 
such as this hearty word from one for whom he had pre- 
pared a sermon outline ; — it is quoted verbatim : 

" So you have written to remind me of a ' Certain Austin 
Craig.' I need not to be reminded of such a Person. There 
is not a day but what that person is thought of by me. Your 
kindness to and sympathy for me is fresh in my mind. You 
will ever live in my memory and hold a near place in my heart. 



64 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

you say you still expect to viset us this summer or fall And ask 
at what time I would prefer a viset. Well I would prefer to 
have a viset this summer then in the fall also in the Winter 
And again in the Spring and to have you to stay three months 
each time ! I thank you for the usefuel instruction contained 
in your letter and I hope to proffit by it. I have not had that 
time to devote study that I aught to have sins I've been here. 
. . . I would be glad to receive a letter from you often and 
I know, that if it give you half the pleasure to Write, that 
it does me to read them, you would write very often, give me 
your best thoughts on paper ." 

Austin had taken occasion in one of his letters to cau- 
tion an old preacher against harbouring bitter feelings 
against another preacher with whom he had had some 
difficulty. This characteristic response followed : 

"Austin, are there not some men in the earth that you doe 
not respect as high as you doe others ? doe not sum men per- 
sue a course of conduct that has your most hearty approbation ? 
And are there not others who practice on such principles that 
you can not approve ? Well doe you regard them with a bitter 
spirit ? Are there not degrees of love or respect ? May I not 
respect one man more than another ? And yet not regard, the 
one I love less. * With a bitter spirit ' ? It seems to me so." 

One cannot forbear the following from the same minis- 
ter written after Austin had visited him and preached for 
him a number of times : 



The Baptists are trying to crush us, They have had 



here for three weeks and four other Ministers, Whilest poor 

is all a lone. has been here but he done no good. 

that I know of. When you left us our meetings continuoed to 

in crees in intrist, But when came there was a rush at the 

Baptist House. Now I want you to return to this place as soon 
as you can get here. Now my bro for the sake of truth, and 
the cause for which we plead, come, oh come ! If your 
clothes are not ready for a Journey dont stand for that, pack 
them up and come Just as you are We have plenty of sope and 
water Worme hearts and willing hands, so come on my dear 



HIS EARLY PREACHING 65 

bro. and I will try and keep things a Mooveing until you 
come. Come. Come, doe come." 

In another letter he quotes two expressions of the min- 
ister who was preaching such rousing sermons to the 
Baptists : 

"I must give you a specimen of 's elequence. 'It is 

as impossable for a Unitariin or a Universalist to go to Heaven 
as for a codfish to climb that iron (Pointing to an iron rod on 
Which the stove-pipe rest',s) rod tail foremest with a loaf of 
bread in his mouth.' 

" ' A sinner will be as uneassey in Heaven, as a bobtail horse 
in fly time.' " 

More and more frequently the letters came asking the 
young preacher to speak here, there, everywhere. Now 
and again there is a minor strain in them, as witness the 
following from a preacher then quite well known in New 
Jersey : 

"My time is wasted here and my prospects of heaven de- 
creased : for instead of having anything to help and encourage 
me, everything tends to discourage me and sour my spirit. I 
have made up my mind to endure like a stoical philosopher all 
I meet and see ; still, that is not like living among those whose 
hearts beat in unison with mine, who cheer me on and hold up 
my hands in the arduous labours of the ministry. How it is 
they wish me to stay I cannot see ; for so far as I can see, there 
is no sympathy between us. Verily there are some strange 
things in this world. . . . Sometimes I think that I will 
not trouble their consciences nor offer any reproofs, making all 
my efforts in such a manner as will be most likely to please 
and thus slide along as smoothly as possible until spring, — give 
them a good dose of ' soft sauder ' and leave them. But my 
conscience and ideas of duty do not seem disposed to let me 
do it. 

" Since I agreed to stay and made my arrangements to that 
effect, I have received a letter from a church in Pennsylvania 
requesting me to send them a preacher — had I had this note 
two weeks earlier I should have probably gone myself. It is a 



6Q LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

small church in the backwoods and they are poor, but yet they 
are rich, rich in faith and good works. Many sweet and 
precious seasons have I enjoyed with them and now, when I 
write of them, my heart warms and swells and I fain would be 
away from this cold and lifeless church and be with them and 
share their toil, their poverty, and their love. I have given 
up riches, — my father was wealthy, — and worldly honour for 
Christ, and my heart yearns to be with them. How dreary is 
this place to me when my heart is frozen by the polar coldness 
of the icy hearts of those who profess to serve my Master. 

" Could you, my dear Austin, go and serve them a while? 
There is a field contiguous to it where you would have ample 
room to exert your strength and you would be within twenty- 
five miles of Plymouth. The compensation would not be great, 
yet large when we compare their ability with that of many in 
this state. They say in their letter that they can pay $50 for, 
I suppose, one-fourth of the time. This, you see, is at the rate 
of $200 per year, which is better than most of the churches of 
my acquaintance in this state do. . . . There is less pride 
and more piety among them than here. The country is hilly, 
the air salubrious, the water pure ; hence it is healthy. Sup- 
pose you go and try it ! I think I am a dunce that I did not 
go myself. When will you come and see me ? I will get the 
worth of my board and washing out of you in instruction, for 
I am stuck fast in the Greek verb." 

Before passing to the first formal call which the young 
minister received after he had returned to Lafayette 
College and completed his course there, we may not 
do better, in order to give a picture in miniature of 
the life he had been living, than to quote from a letter 
which he wrote in later days, in answer to certain ques- 
tions asked. The letter forms the substance of a later 
chapter ; the extract follows : 

"I was not in my youth trained to any handicraft by which 
I could, if need were, gain my bread. I was kept at school 
most of my years until I was, say, twentv. Of some of my 
schooling I did not see the use at the time. I think it has 
helped me to serve more efficiently than I otherwise could what 
has seemed to be my calling among men. My attention was 



HIS EARLY PREACHING 67 

turned to the ministry in my last year at school (1843). I 
began to preach in that year, here and there, as occasion 
offered. In May, 1844, I was admitted a member of the New 
Jersey Christian Conference, with which body I have held my 
membership ever since. I was admitted as a 'licentiate.' The 
year following, I was ordained in pursuance of a vote of the 
Conference passed at its spring session in 1845. 

"In the years 1843, '44 and '46, I preached as often as 
opportunity was afforded me, a Sunday here, an evening there, 
in church, schoolhouse, or dwelling, as the call happened to 
come to me. Most of my preaching was with brethren, — 
ministers of the New Jersey Christian Conference. I was 
engaged thus whenever I had a call; — quite frequently at 
times ; then again, for intervals, at home studying. I sought 
no charge— no pastoral charge, — as I felt myself too inex- 
perienced for that. Nor did I seek compensation for my 
preaching. I considered my experience compensation; and 
was glad whenever brethren would give me an opportunity to 
preach in their churches, or in schoolhouses. I don't remem- 
ber to have received anything — not even a dollar — for my 
preaching during the first two years of my ministry. I am 
sure that all I received during the first four years of my min- 
istry (say to the close of 1846) would not pay my expenses of 
study for the five months — January to May, 1846 — which I 
spent at Easton, Pennsylvania, learning Hebrew. 

"In July, '46, I began to preach more frequently; went 
through most of the churches in New Jersey, from north to 
south. We had a sort of travelling college — as we called it. 
Elder B. F. Summerbell, of your Conference, remembers it, I 
dare say. With him I rode from Northern New Jersey to the 
Wyoming Valley, in Pennsylvania, going and returning, and 
preaching on the way. I visited and preached to about twenty 
churches in New Jersey, and on the Pennsylvania border. To 
some of these churches my visits were repeated, again and 
again. But, as I now remember, I received no money — not 
even expenses of travel — for these preachings." 

It was, naturally, fortunate that his father was in such 
financial circumstances that he could help in the matter 
of personal expenses, something that fell to the lot of but 
few of the itinerant preachers who grew gray in a serv- 
ice of great toil and manifold hardships. 



V 

THE FIRST CHARGE 

DOWN in a narrow valley in the New Jersey hills, 
about twenty- five miles from New York City, 
a little town had been established by a large 
manufacturer. It was called Feltville, after its proprie- 
tor, David Felt. The town was chiefly made up of his 
employees. It was not a large place, but the workmen 
were of a high type and it made up for quantity in its 
quality. Mr. Felt was a leading Unitarian in New York. 
He wished his people to have regular religious services. 
For a time there had been preaching in rotation from 
pastors of different denominations, but this was not satis- 
factory all around, nor was it deemed feasible to estab- 
lish a number of weak and ineffectual churches merely to 
keep up denominational lines. 

So it was decided that there should be one church to 
which all could go. How to get this church in running 
order and maintain it, — that was the problem. The ma- 
chinery of the church was ready ; — it only needed a man 
in command who would unite all the diverse faiths and, 
preaching to them the common Gospel of Christ, hold 
them united. 

There had been many efforts to secure Austin Craig for 
parishes here and there. His talents were recognized 
over a wide range of country and he was so catholic in 
his faith and so convincing in his speech there was 
scarcely a denomination but would have welcomed him 
to its communion to preach as he wished. Even among 
the ultra orthodox there were many who could see in the 

68 



THE FIRST CHARGE 69 

sane and powerful, never flaccid or weak-kneed, preach- 
ing of the young man something which all their depend- 
ence upon man-devised interpretations of the Bible could 
not give to them. The ministers of the older orthodox 
churches were no less inclined to him than the members 
of their flocks. One of the former writing from Rahway, 
New Jersey, in January, 1848, a man who had been 
many times a visitor at the home of Moses Craig and who 
had been deeply interested in Austin, put it in this way, — 
and his view might be taken as a conservative statement 
of the opinion of the average orthodox preacher : 

" In your letter you stated your acquaintance with ministers 
of various orthodox denominations had not afforded you the 
pleasure which you had anticipated but that you had been re- 
garded ' with suspicion and distrust.' I regret this but it is not 
to be regarded as arising from personal considerations, not a 
suspicion of yourself but rather a suspicion of the soundness, or 
unsoundness, of your religious faith. I do not say that this is 
an apology for discourtesy, but I have no doubt that this is the 
ground of any indisposition to Christian fellowship that you 
may have observed. You know the tenacity with which the 
cardinal doctrines are held by the orthodox ; this is to be com- 
mended, but it should never supersede the law of love. 

"And now, my dear sir, allow me to say, that while I have 
never cherished any other sentiments towards you than those of 
respect and affection, I have yet deeply regretted that you 
could not see your way clear to adopt the doctrines of our 
church or of some other orthodox branch. This I have de- 
sired ; for your own enjoyment in religion would, I think, be 
thereby promoted, and a more extended field of usefulness 
would be before you. I hope, my dear sir, you will not deem 
my freedom of expression as an evidence of disrespect but as an 
evidence of my affection and the esteem in which I have held 
your character and talents." 

From letters like this no doubt the young preacher 
turned with relief to such an expression as the following 
from another young pastor, now already settled : 



70 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"It is really amusing to see how some very good people are 
shocked if men dare to think for themselves. They have been 
so long accustomed to see men think in orthodox straight- 
jackets that they are alarmed and very fearful that they will do 
mischief if they should have the temerity to throw off the 
straight-jacket and be intellectual and moral freemen. For my 
own part, I am not intimidated by their fears nor alarmed by 
their cries of danger. If I find it convenient to express my 
idea in language that is not found in the Bible I have no hesi- 
tation in so doing. . . . 

" I believe nature as much a revelation of God as the Bible 
and I can learn lessons of goodness, power, and wisdom from 
nature as effectively as I can from the Bible. Science should 
be the handmaid of religion as nature is the twin sister of the 
Bible, and I regret that the misguided zeal of many pious men 
has led them to set the revelations of God in His Word so far 
above the revelation of Himself in His works. 'But,' says a 
pious brother of the Old School, ' nature may be misunder- 
stood.' I answer, So may the Bible, and I believe that one is 
not more frequently misunderstood than the other. This plan 
that some have of setting God at war with nature and revela- 
tion with science is I think most pernicious. Man should be 
taught to see God in every flower and every tree, in the chang- 
ing seasons, in the rising and setting sun, and in all the varied 
and beautiful phenomena of nature. When this is done we 
may expect an enlightened piety and will see men learn lessons 
in wisdom and holiness from nature as well as from revelation. 
The narrow and contracted views that have been instilled into 
the minds of the people by a bigoted and frequently ignorant 
clergy (not ignorant of scholastic theology and orthodox non- 
sense, but of the sublime nature and perfection of God as they 
are seen in the works of nature) have disqualified them to relish 
or appreciate the beauties of nature or even to look upon the 
starry heavens as emblems of grandeur, purity and perfec- 
tion. . . . 

" I rejoice to believe that men are beginning to lose their 
relish for mysteries and to desire plain, practical common- 
sense views relative to the nature of God and the duties of 
man. . . . " 

Back and forth the young man would have been tossed 
by the conflicting waves about him had not his craft been 



THE FIRST CHARGE 71 

a staunch and reliable one, sailing calmly and unerringly 
towards the safest of all ports. Something in his manner 
of preaching and in his line of thought and interpretation 
of the Bible appealed strongly to those who were already 
going into battle, openly or covertly, against the old or- 
thodoxy ; and yet, so tenacious was he of vital truth, so 
absolutely loyal to what he believed to be the true teach- 
ing of both the Old and the New Testaments, he could not 
be swerved a hair' s breadth in either direction from what 
he believed to be the right. If he were asked to preach 
in a Unitarian or a Universalist church he preached pre- 
cisely the same sort of Gospel that he would present in 
the bluest of all blue Calvinistic atmospheres. He was 
absolutely fearless and uncompromising : he was so at the 
beginning, he was so at the end of the splendid years of 
his teaching and ministry. 

Down in the New Jersey Valley a work was awaiting 
him. A formal call had come to him to take charge of 
the church in Feltville. Perhaps the nature of the work 
before him and his own views upon it may not better be 
put than by quoting this letter from him, written a little 
later, after he had served the Feltville church so success- 
fully and had been called to a larger field : 

" The following is a copy of a printed circular which I re- 
cently received by post. It speaks for itself : 

" < Feltville, N. /, April \ 1852. 
" ' Dear Sir : 

" ' The residents of this village, composed of persons of 
different denominations of Christians, are desirous of securing 
the services of a devoted minister of the Gospel who is willing 
to lay aside all sectarianism, and come among us on common 
ground, and be a pastor to all, without distinction of sect. The 
people are anxious to have the Gospel preached, but cannot be 
united in any one sect. To a faithful, devoted man a com- 
fortable support will be secured, as well as the sympathy and 



72 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

cooperation of the inhabitants. The following resolutions were 
passed unanimously by them at a recent meeting. If you can 
direct us to such a man, you will confer a favour by addressing 
the undersigned, by post, immediately. 

"<S. B. Jennings, 
" <F. W. Wilcox, 
"<Wm. C. Brooks, 
" ' Committee. 

" ' i. Resolved. That a committee of three be appointed 
to take into consideration the subject of selecting a suitable 
person as pastor and minister of this village, from any denomina- 
tion, provided he can meet with us on common ground of 
Christian Fellowship. And all persons of every denomination 
of Christians shall have full and free privilege to all the ordi- 
nances which may be administered in this place. 

" ' 2. Resolved. That ministers of all denominations shall 
have free use of the pulpit whenever any opportunity offers 
rendering it convenient. 

" ' 3. Resolved. That we shall deprecate any preaching 
or ministration from this pulpit, of a sectarian character, as 
highly detrimental to the cause of pure Christianity in this 
village.' 

" This call for a minister of the Gospel comes from the in- 
habitants of a manufacturing village near Newark, N. J. The 
village possesses a chapel, a schoolhouse, a public library, a 
Sabbath-school library, etc. He, who was recently their min- 
ister, having resigned his charge there, they are now desirous 
of settling a competent person to minister to them in holy 
things. The inhabitants of the village though of different de- 
nominations of Christians — Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, 
Episcopalians, Unitarians, etc. (as I knew them formerly), in- 
stead of dispersing in handfuls on Sundays, each to his own 
denominational church, here and there, wisely unite as a whole 
community to sustain in their midst Christian institutions and 
Gospel ministrations. 

" The community is able to sustain one church, but not two. 
Herein its case is identical with that of very many villages and 
communities. To such villages the practical question is, Shall 
we have one united church, or none at all ? — One church to 
unite the people and be a blessing to them, most communities 



THE FIRST CHARGE 73 

could have, if they would let alone their many frivolous and un- 
productive questions of speculative theology. But this they are 
not always wise enough to do ; and so we find attempts made 
to support two and sometimes three churches in communities 
where indeed only one could be well supported, and thus the 
spirit of injurious worldly rivalry is begotten, ' the things that 
make for peace ' are forgotten, and neighbour with neighbour 
engages in an unholy sectarian strife, until little of the Christian 
spirit — the real church — remains among them. 

"The inhabitants of Feltville happily determine to pursue a 
different course. They are sensible of the importance of hav- 
ing Christian ministrations and gospel institutions maintained 
in their midst. They are anxious to have the Gospel preached 
to them. They determine to sustain one church in their village. 

" What church — that is, what denominational church, shall 
it be? Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian or Unita- 
rian ? No, none of these : for they say that they ' cannot be 
united in any one sect.' What then ? Will one tell them that 
in that case they had better not be united at all ? Why, the 
patriots and liberalists in Europe have tried to secure liberty 
for themselves, heretofore, by working in sectional and party 
bands. I am a Pole, and I a Frenchman, and I an Italian, 
and I a Hungarian, said the patriots and democrats of the dif- 
ferent nations. Party prejudices — national prejudices, were 
allowed to separate them into factions without organization ; 
and the result (not difficult to have foreseen) was failure. The 
struggle of 1848 showed the weakness of factional efforts of 
democracy against united despotisms. What would you say 
to the defeated forces of democracy ? Would you say, unite, 
consolidate your forces against the common foe ; or, would you 
say, continue in your divisions ; cherish your sectional feeling 
and antipathies ; better never have liberty than to have it oth- 
erwise than as factions, as sects, as Poles, Hungarians, Italians ? 
Nay, they have learned differently. Pole, Hungarian, Italian, 
are no longer the watchwords ; but Union for Liberty. And 
the next conflict will bring united democracies into the field 
against allied despotism. And Heaven succeed the Right ! 

"Why should not Christians do likewise? Shall it always 
be true that ' the children of this world are in their generation 
wiser than the children of light ' ? Shall we always say, I am 
a Methodist, and I a Presbyterian, and I a Friend, and I a 
Unitarian ? — and endeavour thus with divided and ill-marshalled 



74 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

forces to put to rout the consolidated hosts of wickedness ? 
Shall we continue to expend our Christian energies in com- 
bating each other, because of opinional diversities, while the 
enemy advances steadily upon us ? I, for one, say, for Heaven's 
sake, nay ! In God's name, let there be a truce to this skir- 
mishing and division in the Christian family ! Let Ephraim 
no more vex Judah ! Let sectarian interests and zeals be for- 
gotten — while with solid phalanx we go up, in the strength of 
God, to put to rout the hosts of darkness, and give deliverance 
to the world ! " 

To find a man who should minister to all of these varying 
beliefs, who should unite them all in service, who should 
destroy no one's faith, but strengthen the faith of all— 
this was the man the committee believed they had found 
in Austin Craig, and such, indeed, was the man they 
found. 

The proprietor of the town, as noted, was by faith a 
Unitarian and so the installation sermon was preached 
by the Rev. H. W. Bellows, of New York, one of the 
famous Unitarian preachers of the day, who had become 
greatly interested in Austin Craig and who remained his 
steadfast friend until he died. The installation was on 
the 23d of June, 1850. Ministers of other denominations 
in the vicinity took part. It was an auspicious introduc- 
tion to the first formal pastorate. Steadily the young 
man won his way. Now and then there might be obsta- 
cles, it was in the very nature of things that such there 
should be, but these obstacles he overcame in the same 
tactful, gentle, but never vacillating way that distin- 
guished him through all his life. His manner of pro- 
cedure was not to dodge the issue whatever it was, but to 
meet it manfully and fight it to the end in the open. 
Frequently he invited ministers of other denominations 
located in the region round about to share his pulpit with 
him or to preach in his place. Often a young Catholic 
priest, who had quite a number of communicants among 



THE FIRST CHAEGE Y5 

the workmen of the village, would unite with Mr. Craig 
in the service, one taking a portion, the other the rest, 
and all in the gentlest harmony. The young priest was 
Bernard John McQuaid, now Bishop of Rochester, New 
York. In Mr. Craig's "Journal of Correspondence 7 ' are 
entries of several letters asking the young priest to bap- 
tize children of Catholic parents. 

Interest steadily deepened in his work. The attendance 
upon his meetings was large, the sympathy sustained. 
He made men think. He made them think on right 
lines. He compelled them to seize the essential. He 
taught them how to detect veneer. He showed them that 
which was genuine and exposed to them that which was 
spurious. 

While he was in the midst of his pastoral labours he 
was yet carrying on his studies and keeping up a large 
correspondence in which many vital questions as to re- 
ligion or the state were discussed. But whoever thinks 
that a powerful intellectual manhood is developed with- 
out struggle falls far short of the truth. Writing from 
Feltville to a friend, a few months after his installation, he 
says : 



" . . . I, too, could tell a story of mental conflict. 
And so, I suppose, could every man who has yielded himself 
heartily to serve the truth. Some time when you have leisure, 
read Carlyle's ' Sartor Resartus ' — if you have not read it — and 
watch the strugglings of an earnest mind. I have often severe 
trials with myself. My earthly tabernacle is the scene of many 
contests. ' Old Adam ' has so long held possession, that he 
claims a right, and he stoutly opposes the < New Man ' in his 
efforts to take possession of his own. I hardly know some- 
times how it will turn at last. 

" Occasionally the ' Old Man' goes away for a few days, 
and I become quite elated, thinking I am clear of him ; but 
no such luck ; back he comes, when I least expect him, and 
then such a time ! — My whole house is presently turned upside 



76 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

down, — my plans of usefulness dispersed — my thoughts turned 
upon self-ends — and my quietude broken. He came upon me 
last Saturday, and took me quite aback, by telling me that I 
do not believe in Jesus Christ. He told me that I knew very 
well I did not know anything about the marvellous tales re- 
corded in the Gospel, and that it was no better than imposition 
to pretend to know them. I had to acknowledge to him that I 
did not know the truth of the marvels narrated in the Gospel ; 
but that I thought it probable that God had made a revelation 
of Himself as thus narrated. Still, I could not feel certain 
of it. 

" But, I plainly told him that I felt determined — God, or no 
God, Christianity, or no Christianity — to spend my life in labour- 
ing to purify and elevate my brother-man. I told him that I 
did believe in the Spirit of Jesus, and in His doctrine of Life ; 
and that I intend to make harder efforts to subdue every op- 
posing principle and tendency within me ; and that I will spend 
my life in usefulness — in doing good to mankind, and if there 
be no hereafter, I shall have the satisfaction, when Death comes, 
to think that I have lived usefully and well ; but, if the story 
of the Resurrection and Eternal Life be true, I shall hope by 
faithfulness in subduing my heart-evils, and in serving my 
brother-man, to obtain an entrance upon its scenes of useful- 
ness and joy." 

The following letter received by Austin Craig while at 
Feltville is of interest : 

" Parkers burg, April 9, 18 jo. 
11 Dear Sir : 

" Your discourse upon the unity of the Christian Church 
has been received and read by me with much pleasure. By 
the same mail, I received another publication, which I have 
not yet found time to peruse, but which shall command my 
earnest attention for the first rainy Sunday that comes to pass. 

" I had seen notices of your onslaught upon sectarianism, or, 
rather your founding of a new sect, as was first announced, but 
I was in doubt whether that Austin Craig was the veritable 
Austin Craig of college memory. The receipt of your two 
tracts makes the identity a « fixed fact ' in my mind, and I 
am glad thus to renew an acquaintance of ' auld lang syne.' 

" But, notwithstanding your discourse is title paged as having 



THE FIRST CHARGE 77 

been ' preached ' on a certain occasion, candour compels me 
to acknowledge myself rather dubious as to the degree of sin- 
cerity or earnestness that ought to attach to your views. All 
ideas of yourself are closely coupled, in my memory, with a 
stubborn propensity for quizzing, so that I am really unable to 
decide whether you are serious. 

" Let that be as it may, however, you have made one convert 
to your doctrine, or, you rather express and elaborate my 
previously conceived sentiments so clearly and satisfactorily, 
that I take my stand upon your platform without hesitation. 
What few religious promptings have fallen to my lot, are ever 
encountered by the great stumbling-block of sectarianism. 
With some knowledge of the various creeds that have obtained, 
I know not one to which I could subscribe without some reser- 
vation, even were I fitted for church-membership in other par- 
ticulars — which, I lament to say, is by no means the fact. 

" I think you fully expose the errors and inconsistencies per- 
taining to the very nature of sectarianism. That incubus upon 
religion is the invention of the priesthood — a species of priest- 
craft that calls loudly for another generation of Luthers, 
Knoxes, Zwingles, Calvins, Melancthons, etc., who shall pos- 
sess the nerve and energy requisite to a second reformation of 
the Church. 

"But I am growing theological and must desist, until I can 
learn more fully whether you are a preacher, sure enough, or 
only an unctuous layman, whom the spirit sometimes moves to 
1 speak right out in meetinV When you inform me more 
particularly on that subject, I will commune more freely with 
you. If I wrong you by these doubts, you must blame your- 
self, for I cannot divest myself of the recollection of your hoax- 
ing proclivity. 

"I am engaged at present, and have been for the last three 
years, in editing a weekly paper — am very fond of the business 
and would be still more so, if it would pay better. 

"Let me hear from you soon. Send me any of your efforts 
that you will ; I will read them, not being more than half the 
heathen that common repute once made me appear. 

"I do not know whether you 'be a parson' or not, so I 
shall address this to plain Austin Craig, to whom I beg leave 
to subscribe myself, 

" Respectfully, 

"A. McD. Sterrett." 



78 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

Perhaps in no way may the spirit and character of the 
young preacher be better shown than by the following 
extracts from letters written while carrying on the Felt- 
ville work to various friends in response to criticism or 
comment or suggestion : 

"I dislike the phrase 'Liberal Christianity.' Christianity- 
is never otherwise than liberal. The Apostle's Creed is the 
best human Creed. Don't despair of your usefulness nor of 
the world's final redemption." 

" I will labour as a Christian with any who will permit me ; 
but I am anxious to be simply a member of Christ's one, holy, 
Catholic and Apostolic Church. If I cannot be fellowshipped 
as a Christian, I must submit to be without fellowship. I 
would rather not join your conference, though I will endeavour 
to attend it. I do not know the ministers who compose it ; 
and they might take it upon themselves to disfellowship me — 
after my joining them — for my heresies ! " 

" ' Shall we — the Christian denomination — always be as a 
people without books ? ' Not if we will condescend to use the 
multitude of good books which others have published. We 
ought to learn to value good things, whether they have our 
denominational seal and approval upon them, or not. What 
answer shall we give when asked who are our most prominent 
writers ? Answer, candidly and manfully, that we have had 
none of the great names in literature and science among us — 
that our denominational list of great names is meagre and 
scanty; but that the principles on which we profess to be 
founded, have received the suffrages of such men as Milton and 
Cudworth, and Newton and Swedenborg — giants in Philosophy 
and Literature and Science, and saints in life." 

"We ought to act a noble, manly, Christian part; and if a 
sense of duty demands of us to occupy a position of obloquy 
and reproach, we should not be backward to take that posi- 
tion ; if, on the other hand, we may be true to our sense of 
duty, and at the same time have the fellowship of the professed 
followers of Christ in our vicinity, that is well." 



THE FIRST CHARGE 79 

" From my heart's bottom I hate restrictions upon free en- 
quiry and free discussion. I have no spark of sympathy with that 
spirit which seeks to screen any truth from any onslaught of 
its questioners and opposers. Truth asks a ' fair field and no 
favour.' " 

" Now, to confess my faith. I do believe in experimental 
religion. I believe in our obtaining and possessing the Holy 
Spirit. I don't believe in 'getting religion,' — as that phrase is 
popularly understood. I believe that the Gospel is a remedial 
system for the cure of heart-evil : — that what all men need is 
salvation, not culture merely. I believe in Christian Progress ; 
— that it is the privilege of the present generation to be wiser 
and better than their predecessors ; — that we can be so, if we 
will give ourselves to prayer, and to a faithful study of the 
Truth. I want to feel that I am the property of Christ ; not of 
the Christian denomination, nor of any other human organiza- 
tion. I am, at the same time, desirous of cultivating fraternal 
relations with all the followers of Christ, especially with those 
whom personal acquaintance and historic connections have en- 
deared to me. I dislike above all things, to be misapprehended 
and suspected by those whom I wish to regard as brethren ; but 
if it must be so, it must ; I resolve that I will ever boldly avow 
my convictions of truth and right, let who will, approve ; let 
who will, condemn." 

" The Bible is our rule to the exclusion of all the creeds, 
covenants, disciplines, and articles of faith ever prepared by 
uninspired men and imposed upon the Church. Christian char- 
acter is our only test of fellowship and communion, to the ex- 
clusion of all the shibboleths of party and tests of bigotry ever 
urged upon the humble followers of Jesus Christ. I would re- 
joice to behold the day when all churches shall say, ' We are 
Christians, to the exclusion of all the names of faction and 
party ; but not the exclusion of the good of any party ; the man 
of Christian character, we will fellowship — be he in opinion, 
Calvinist, or Armenian, Trinitarian, or Universalist.' " 

This letter to a gentleman in Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire, who had written him regarding the plans for a new 
interdenominational church, shows in clear form how 



80 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

strongly the Feltville plan was appealing to him. It 
was written when he had been in Feltville about three 
months : 

"... I hope the society which you have mentioned as 
about being organized in your place on an unsectarian basis, will 
be preserved from the error into which some similar associations 
have fallen — that of regarding the forms and peculiarities of their 
association, more than the spirit and institutions of the Gospel. 
It is so common for reformers of every kind to lose sight of 
great, central, universal interests, and to come gradually to oc- 
cupy a position simply negative, that I feel interest for your 
society, lest it fall into the same error. 

"Many of the religious organizations in Christendom are 
little more than theological hook and ladder companies. Their 
whole mission seems fulfilled in tearing down. They lose sight 
of the great, positive character of Christianity, and centre all 
their energies and zeal upon a single point — important it may 
be ; but the entire Gospel it cannot be. I am confident that 
the successful way of pulling down any error, is by building up 
the truth — building it up not merely in dogmatic statements 
and discussions, but in our lives, in our hearts. 

"In taking the unsectarian position which you have assumed, 
you become an object of interest and dislike (perhaps) to the 
denominations around you. It is natural to expect that your 
society will be assailed for holding latitudinarian principles. 
It is also natural to expect that the pulpit of the society will 
sometimes be occupied in defense of your unsectarian position ; 
and sometimes perhaps in exposing the unscriptural position of 
the various sectarian bodies. Under such circumstances you 
will be exposed to the danger of becoming too much absorbed 
in controversy; you may lose sight of the great object for which 
the Church exists : — (viz., to cure the heart-evils of the world) 
and become simply propagandists of anti-sectarian principles. 
I earnestly wish that God may preserve your newly formed 
society from such disastrous result. 

" In choosing you a pastor have regard rather to his piety 
and zeal in promoting holiness, than to his particular interest 
and zeal in promulgating and defending anti-sectarianism. Be 
as free as Christ can make you from all creed and sect fetters ; 
but use such freedom only as a means of procuring for your- 
selves a larger measure of the free spirit of God's adopted sons. 



THE FIEST CHAEGE 81 

i wish you grace and blessing from God. May He grant you 
in this enterprise, that wisdom which is ' profitable to direct. ' ' ' 

But there were other, though related, principles taking 
form in the mind of the young preacher as well as those 
strictly pertaining to his pulpit work. He was becom- 
ing more and more interested in the affairs of his country 
and in the immediate welfare of the people. He had 
early learned the power of type and had begun contribut- 
ing to the denominational papers and had been selected 
as an assistant editor of one of them. Now and then, 
according to the fashion of the day, he issued tracts, 
practical helpful talks, in his case, of religious character, 
far unlike the namby-pamby productions of those whose 
chief recommendation was their facile use of cant and 
hypocrisy. 

Austin's father took a deep interest in national politics 
and frequently discussed important political events in his 
letters to his son, hoping, thereby, no doubt, to quicken, 
stimulate, and broaden the young preacher. Now and 
then such touches as these, written while Austin was at 
Feltville, appear : 

" I heard Hill preach last Sunday. He is a flaming 
Methodist, says he would rather be a Methodist preacher 
than president of the United States. He can be only one of 
them for there is no danger of his being the other ; Cass will 
do for that. The Whigs are in a great stew about the nomina- 
tion of Taylor ; it doesn't suit. 

" The Louisiana delegation in the Whig national convention 
at Philadelphia (Greeley calls it the National Slaughter House !) 
stated — Judge Saunders was spokesman — that General Taylor 
would abide the decision of that convention ; he was in the 
hands of his friends — in that convention they were Whigs of 
course. If the choice fell upon some other one besides him- 
self he would support the nominee heart and soul and in that 
event, he, Taylor, would withdraw his name from before the 
people. Saunders further stated that he thought a change in 



82 LIFE AjSD LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

men and measures necessary in order to arrest the downward 
tendency of our government. 

"This looks too Whiggish for me. I take the above from 
the Tribune, no doubt reported truly, and also from the 
Herald. This statement made by the delegation of his own 
state secured for him the Whig nomination. Availability was 
about all that was looked at." 

In another letter written to Austin he says : 

" There is no country in the world so prosperous, so happy 
and so free as this. While the old world is racked and tossed 
with monarchy in various forms, the people are groaning to be 
free. They look to this as a model government and say, If 
we only were as well off ! A currency without a national 
bank, the best of any country in the world ; good prices for 
our produce ; plenty of employment for our people ; the tariff 
modified on the ad valorem principle ; our people think, talk, 
and act as they please; — what better? Need we want for 
more ? 

"Democratic measures is now the settled policy of the 
country. General Cass is nominated and stands pledged to 
continue the same, — /. e., to let well enough alone. He is 
from a free state. The Herald says he is a national man. 
The New York Express, a strong Taylor paper of June 19th, 
says (I quote from an editorial) : 

" 'It was thought advisable by the late democratic conven- 
tion to take as a candidate a man who stood on the middle 
ground as to the slavery question. Claiming the power of Con- 
gress to prohibit slavery and leaving it to the territories them- 
selves to admit slavery or not; — that is, to admit them without 
restriction. While this principle is entirely hostile to the views 
of the "Free Soil" party of the free states, it has been found 
alike unpalatable to the Calhoun men of the South and to 
many men in the South who are not Calhoun men.' 

"General Taylor is a Whig, nominated by the Whigs. He 
has written a number of letters at different times. I have in 
my possession several, about twenty-four. In one of them he 
says he is a Whig, in another he takes the strongest possible 
Whig ground on the exercise of the veto power. In another 
he says he has been in the army for forty years and has never 
experienced the privilege of voting, but if he had been in the 



THE FIRST CHARGE 83 

country at the last election he would have voted for Clay. He 
can't give an answer on the bank and tariff question. He as- 
serts as a reason that he has never given them due considera- 
tion. I don't know what course he would pursue. He has 
several plantations and about 200 slaves. Of this there is no 
mistake. Of course he would favour the institution of slavery. 
He is a good general and no doubt a man of good, steady 
habits and character, a fearless warrior. I understand he was 
in favour of procuring bloodhounds from Cuba at the time of 
the Seminole War, at least he recommended it to the govern- 
ment of Florida. I think there is no mistake about this. I 
saw it in a New York paper and have not seen it contradicted. 

" To sum up : I know the course Cass will pursue if elected ; 
I don't know Taylor's course. I feel disposed not to disturb 
the settled, prosperous policy of the country. Old party spirit 
I think has got its death-blow. When Jackson was president 
Cass was in his cabinet. The opposition then said everything 
of Jackson, almost, that was bad, but they said he had one 
good man in his cabinet and that was Cass. I well remember 
this. I tell them now that it is a pity I have so good a mem- 
ory ! There is little said here on the subject. The Whigs are 
not all pleased with Taylor and will not all support him, but 
they will generally. The nomination of Van Buren will weaken 
the vote of Cass and Taylor both, perhaps. Cass' private 
character is good; so is Taylor's. 

" Our glorious Union is preserved by compromise and con- 
cession. I think and feel it my duty heartily to preserve and 
transmit to those who shall come after me, as far as my feeble 
influence shall extend, the same happy form of government we 
now have. In a little while slavery will be abolished in some 
of the slave states, leaving them in a minority. We must not 
do anything that will cause a division of the Union. Civil 
wars would follow and oh, the consequences ! 

" I went to Morristown July 5th. The whites celebrated the 
4th then and the blacks held a Bobolition on the 5th. There 
was (on the 5th) a large turnout. The officer of the day was 
mounted, — wore a feather epaulette, — attended by two aides in 
uniform, one of which rode a donkey. It was amusing to see 
these natives' performance. They would ride into town from 
the country, trot up to the tavern, step out of their rigs and 
help out the fair sex (some of them had two), then call for the 
hostler « to take the hoss ' ! " 



84 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

Broadening and deepening his life both by his own 
study and by welcoming and profiting by the stimulation 
of such outside influences, Austin continued through the 
months of his work in Feltville arousing men and women 
to effort, steadying them in their religious faith, and 
strengthening it where it was weak, while all the time 
holding them to him by the winsomeness of his love. 
When it seemed best that he should leave them for a 
wider field of labour this is what they said : 

"At a meeting of the citizens of Feltville, Essex County, 
New Jersey, held at the church this day, David Felt, Esq., was 
called to the chair and Philos Gisburne appointed secretary. 
The undersigned were appointed a committee to draft resolu- 
tions expressive of their feelings with regard to the services of 
Rev. Austin Craig as pastor of the church in this place during 
the last year. 

" In entering upon the discharge of this duty the committee 
felt considerably embarrassed from the delicacy of the subject 
and from a consciousness of their inability truly and sufficiently 
to express the kind feelings cherished by every one in our 
midst towards Mr. Craig. 

"To most of the inhabitants in this place and its vicinity 
Mr. Craig has been known upwards of three years and during 
this lapse of time they have yet to learn of the first deed or act 
performed by him in the least conflicting with strict propriety 
or Christian demeanour. As a man we know him but to love 
and respect him. As a minister of the Gospel we regard him 
as altogether beyond all that would seem to hold communion 
with the worldly-tending elements that have so strongly en- 
trenched themselves in too many hearts — in too many minds. 
We believe him to be entirely consistent in the opinions he 
entertains and that those opinions are not formed without 
due deliberation and careful enquiry. Upon one point we 
wish distinctly to speak and we speak it with unfeigned pleas- 
ure. Never during his labours among us, has he spoken dis- 
respectfully of any denomination or sect of Christians, but has 
freely canvassed everything connected with this progress of 
the Christian religion with the utmost deference to the opinions 
and convictions of others, and with an entire absence of every- 



THE FIRST CHARGE 85 

thing which could by any possibility be construed into faction 
or disorganization. 

"In short we may close by briefly saying that Mr. Craig 
has been faithful as a minister among us, honest, upright, high 
minded and just as a man, — earnest, consistent and devoted as 
a Christian. 

" In parting with him we sustain a loss in the intellectual, 
moral and social circles of our community that we fear it will 
be difficult if not impossible to fill. We commend him to the 
favourable opinions and good wishes of all with whom he may 
associate or in the circle of whose society he may move. 

"And may the Great Head of the Church long continue the 
health and life of one who seems so peculiarly well fitted in 
every point of view to assist mankind in attaining those great 
ends which the God of nature has designed for the lot of all 
who obey her laws and keep her commandments. 

"David Felt, 
"Philos Gisburne, 
" H. A. Guild, 
•■ William Smith, 
* < Daniel Jewett. ' ' 



VI 

THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 

AN important event in the life of Austin Craig 
occurred while he was in Feltville. It was the 
delivery of the conference address at the annual 
meeting of the Christian ministers and churches, held at 
Camptown, now Irvington, New Jersey, May 18, 1850. 
Ever burning within the heart of this young man was the 
fire of a splendid devotion to Truth ; ever the Truth no 
matter where he found it, who uttered it, who opposed, 
who endorsed it ; no matter, indeed, who should be over- 
thrown by its utterance. He had lost no opportunity to 
publish long and short articles in the denominational 
press, presenting in the clearest and most trenchant man- 
ner his reasons for believing in the Church of Jesus 
Christ rather than in the church of Wesley, or Calvin, 
or Luther, or the church of any creed or sect. One of 
the chief attractions of Feltville was the opportunity for 
coming into contact with a large publisher and printer, 
Mr. David Felt, the founder of the town ; thus opening 
the way to the issuance of such pamphlets or tracts as he 
desired to put forth. 

Now and then some article which he would propose to 
the Palladium, one of the Church periodicals, would be 
refused, whereupon he would proceed to issue and dis- 
tribute it himself. The article might not fit the groove 
in which the periodical ran, but it was sure to find its 
place in the hearts of the people, approved by the sane 
and liberal, condemned perhaps by the ultra orthodox j 
but admired by both. In a letter to a friend he says : 

86 






THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 87 

" I observe that you write less frequently than formerly for 
the Palladium. I suppose the reason is the same as my own — 
easy to write for it ; but difficult to get it published. I tried 
as long as I thought it useful, and am now awaiting a change 
in the editorial authority. I have never written for the Chris- 
tian Register. I did send the Christian Inquirer one article ; 
I am morally certain its length if nothing else would have ex- 
cluded it from the Palladium. It is published by the Ameri- 
can Unitarian Association as a tract, occupying twenty -seven 
i2mo pages. 

" Since I cannot write for the Messenger what I feel special 
interest in, I must seek some other channel — viz., tracts. I am 
directing my attention to that and trying to interest my friends 
in it. Russel's defection gives me no uneasiness. I look for 
the final triumph of truth. A greater progressive work a hun- 
dredfold, is going on for Christian freedom in earnest minds in 
society, than compensates this retrocession. An interesting and 
important movement against sectarianism is going on in western 
New York under the auspices of Gerritt Smith and others. A 
few years will probably reveal an immense accession to free 
principles in religion, and perhaps a great defection from them 
among us. 

" I would like to publish some thoughts on the themes you 
have suggested, faith, discipline and the government of the 
Apostolic Church. Perhaps my address to conference this 
spring may be occupied with these things." 



The movement referred to above had taken form in 
what was called an Anti- Sectarian convention, held in 
the Presbyterian church at Peterboro, New York. Gerrit 
Smith was deeply interested in the movement. Heir to 
a large estate and devoted to its administration, he was 
yet in the forefront of all movements looking towards the 
liberation of body or mind. His outspokenness on the 
slavery question attracted the young preacher's attention 
and his great liberality in these and later years in pro- 
viding lands for homeless blacks and whites,— some 
200,000 acres of land being thus distributed free of 
charge, — kept him in a warm place in Austin Craig's 



88 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

heart. On receipt of some information regarding the 
Peterboro meeting he wrote to Mr. Smith for ampler data. 
The latter responded, sending the information, accom- 
panied by a note saying : 

" Dear Brother Craig : 

"I thank you for your letter. I send you what you 
wish. We shall probably have a similar convention at Syracuse 
2 1 st and 2 2d inst. I wish you would attend. 
Feb. i, 1850. "Gerrit Smith." 

All the effort he had so far put forth for Christian unity 
culminated, if we may so express it, at this period in the 
conference address. It not only aroused and held the 
interest of those who heard it, but it gripped hold upon 
many others, reaching them through the pamphlet form 
in which it soon appeared, and, by a still wider circula- 
tion in the columns of the New York Tribune to which 
Mr. Greeley warmly welcomed it, both for its attractive 
literary character and for the clearness and power of its 
content. This address, — a state paper of the Church, a 
notable document, a great platform, if you will ; — even 
more, a Declaration of Independence, — is the more re- 
markable and noteworthy because it came from the pen 
of a young minister not yet twenty-six years of age, pas- 
tor of an obscure country church. That it proves as 
timely and as interesting at the beginning of the twentieth 
century as it did in the middle of the nineteenth, sug- 
gests at once the power of the man who prepared it and 
the universality and vitality of Truth. 

The address which Austin Craig headed with the cap- 
tion, " Ourselves; Our Principles; Our Present Con- 
troversy ; Our Immediate Duties," was as follows : 

Christian Pastors and Delegates, Brethren : — I greet 
you again assembled in annual conference. Again Divine 
Mercy permits us to exchange fraternal greetings, and to take 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 89 

the friendly hand. Again we have met to cooperate in the 
cause of Jesus, and to unite our voices in His praise. May 
His presence be with us — and His blessing forever ! 

In accordance with a vote passed at our last session, I appear 
before you to deliver the customary conference address — to 
speak to you of our progress, our condition, our prospects. I 
enter upon the performance of this duty with feelings of more 
than ordinary interest. 

It is known to you that since our last annual gathering, a 
very important movement has commenced in some of the 
churches professing our principles in New England. This 
movement — hailed by some as an omen of prosperity, but de- 
nounced by others as the commencement of a destructive 
apostasy — contemplates the virtual abandonment of our old 
principles and the organization of our "Connexion " upon a 
new and distinctly sectarian basis. 

A convention of delegates from our several conferences has 
been called to assemble at Marion in the ensuing autumn. To 
this convention we must, at our present session, appoint a dele- 
gate to participate in its deliberations ; and to vote in our name 
upon the settlement of the questions now agitated among us. 

These considerations impel me to occupy this hour in dis- 
coursing upon ourselves: — our principles; our present con- 
troversy ; our immediate duties. 

The movement which resulted in the formation of the 
"Christian Connexion," commenced in a desire to enjoy the 
complete liberty of the Gospel. The pioneers in this movement 
were members of various Protestant sects, who had become 
sensible of the evils of sectarianism, and longed to return to the 
simplicity of faith and unity of spirit which characterized the 
primitive Church. Sectarianism, in all its forms, they declared 
inimical to Christianity. Human legislation, in matters of re- 
ligious faith, they regarded as a usurpation of the authority of 
God. Accordingly, this movement was represented by its 
authors, as an endeavour after Christian liberty and Christian 
union. The principles of this movement may be briefly summed 
up in the following statements : 

i . That there is one Church — established by Jesus Christ ; 
and comprehending all of every age and nation who have ac- 
cepted Him as the predicted Messiah, the Saviour of the world ; 
and have heartily submitted to His authority. 

2. That Jesus Christ is the sole Lawgiver of this Church : 



90 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

so that only He has authority to determine what His Church 
shall believe, and what it shall practice. 

3. That the New Testament contains all the legislative en- 
actments of Jesus Christ for His Church. That it is the only 
and sufficient rule of Christian faith and life ; and hence, that 
every attempt by individuals or associations to dictate articles 
of faith or rules of conduct to the Church of Christ, or to any 
member thereof, is unauthorized and schismatical. 

4. That all enactments of Jesus respecting things to be be- 
lieved and practiced by His followers, are addressed to each 
individual member of His Church ; and are to be submitted to 
by each, as, after a prayerful study of his Master's will, he 
shall understand Him to require. 

5. That men are made members of the Church of Christ by 
spiritual regeneration. 

6. That the fellowship of the Church in any place should 
be extended to every applicant upon a credible profession of 
" Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

7. That a credible profession of faith is that which accom- 
panies such love to God as leads the professor to endeavour 
obedience to all His commands known as such ; together with 
such love to mankind as leads him to endeavour the discharge 
of his duties to society in a spirit of faithfulness and brotherly 
regard. He who thus does, affords all the evidence the New 
Testament authorizes us to require that he is a suitable person 
to be admitted to the fellowship of the Church. 

8. That the proper designation of the collective body of 
believers in a given locality is The Church of God (or Church 
of Christ) in such a place : not " Baptist Church," "Presby- 
terian Church," "Methodist Church," etc. And that the 
proper designation of a member of the church is Christian ; 
not Presbyterian, Methodist, Unitarian, or Lutheran. 

In adopting these principles our pioneers supposed they were 
placing themselves upon the original basis of the Church — upon 
the only basis on which the union of all Christians is prac- 
ticable. They did not purpose the formation of a new sect. It 
is true that moral affinities presently consociated them. And 
it is probable that the opposition they encountered in promul- 
gating their sentiments, so far drew a line of separation between 
them and other religionists, that to superficial observers it 
seemed as if a new sect was being formed by schismatics from 



THE CONFEKENCE ADDKESS 91 

various religious denominations. As Schismatics, however, 
they did not regard themselves — very properly considering 
that Schism consists in departing from the divinely instituted 
basis of Christian fellowship ; not in returning thereto. Noth- 
ing, I believe, was further from the intention of the early advo- 
cates of the movement whose progress to-day assembles us, 
than the organization of a sect. They intended only to impart 
to their fellow Christians that increase of Gospel light and lib- 
erty with which the Divine Mercy had blessed them. They went 
forth, east, west and south, endeavouring to heal the unhappy 
divisions among the followers of the Lord ; and entreating men 
everywhere to accept the Gospel in that simplicity of faith and 
catholicity of spirit which characterized the primitive Church. 

As I have already intimated, they encountered opposition. 
Sectarianism (as was to be expected) would not permit the 
promulgation of principles which aimed its destruction, without 
an effort to oppose them. And it did oppose them. Every- 
where where went the preachers of liberty, sectaries sounded an 
alarm. Untrue and injurious reports were put in circulation 
respecting their principles and designs. It was asserted that 
they were deniers of the Holy Spirit, and that they esteemed 
the Son of God to be a man like themselves. These state- 
ments, in not a few instances, were made by men whose Chris- 
tian profession, and whose position as religious guides, im- 
parted irresistible weight to their false testimony. Thus the 
pulpit generally was closed against them, and the mind of the 
several religious bodies effectually prejudiced against their 
teachings. 

What ensued was what was precisely to be expected. Being 
thus assailed, our reformers thought themselves impelled to the 
adoption of some plan of concerted action. Accordingly they 
associated themselves, and commenced the work of organizing 
churches of such as sympathized with them. Many preachers 
were raised up among them who itinerated extensively, preach- 
ing whenever and wherever they could obtain a hearing ; and 
many churches were planted through this instrumentality. 

These churches, however, were generally regarded with dis- 
favour by the religious societies which surrounded them. This 
naturally engendered among the adherents of the new Connex- 
ion a dislike for the "Sectarians" (as they often termed their 
brethren of the other denominations), while it tended to inter- 
weave still more closely the sympathies of the " Christian M 



92 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

churches, until they finally appeared in a distinctly denomina- 
tional position. 

Then began a change. Owing to the frequent misrepresen- 
tations of their doctrinal tenets, their preachers had come to 
occupy themselves more with Dogmas and less than formerly 
with Principles. Challenges to public discussion of a variety 
of doctrinal points were frequently exchanged with ministers 
of various sects. Sometimes the discussions which ensued oc- 
cupied several days, and were attended by hundreds of inter- 
ested auditors. These discussions could hardly fail of exciting 
a lively interest throughout the " Connexion " — the more so, 
as reports of them were carried by the itinerants into every 
part of it. 

Soon the ministry of the " Connexion " began to theologize. 
One by one the prominent dogmas of Sectdom were made the 
topics of their public discourses. Then sharp controversies 
and sect-criminations and re-criminations ensued. — Then their 
pulpits commenced to resound with strange words. And in 
the din, loud above all the rest, was continually heard, Trin- 
ity ! Trinity I / Trinity ! ! ! 

As might have been expected, many of those who joined the 
" Connexion " during this period, learned to regard the differ- 
ence between the " Christians" and the other religious bodies 
as consisting mainly in their rejection of some dogmas held as 
sacred by other religionists, and the substitution of a rational 
and consistent theology. This notion was, however, incor- 
rect. Theological opinions held a secondary place in this 
movement. That they had anything to do with it was indeed 
quite accidental. Whether "Immersion" or "Aspersion" is 
valid baptism — whether God exists in "Trinity" or in strict 
unity — whether Jesus is a man or a God — were not the ques- 
tions with which this movement commenced. 

The movement, I repeat, was originally a struggle for prin- 
ciples. It was not a conflict about dogmas. But such, unhap- 
pily, it soon came in a great measure to be. And such it must 
ever be when religion is accepted rather as a subject for the 
intellect than as a spring of life to the affections. Then char- 
ity will cool ! Then controversies will arise ! Then the spirit 
of life will depart from the Church ! Then purposes and plan- 
nings for sectarian advantage will agitate the minds of men and 
expel the spirit of Christian effort and love. And so, to a con- 
siderable extent, it was in our Connexion. On this point I 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 93 

need not here particularize. I will only refer to a single and 
well-known fact : A few years ago a great dearth of piety 
commenced in our churches. Complaints of coldness and 
spiritual apathy reached us from every quarter. We wondered 
that it was so, and various causes of the evil were imagined, 
and various plans suggested for its removal. But the evil has 
not been removed. It is still pressing upon us, and many are 
now earnestly asking, What is the matter with us ? and what 
is the remedy for our ailment ? These questions — now more 
or less agitated in every portion of our Connexion — appear to 
have excited the deepest interest among our brethren in New 
England. Their organ has contained, during the last few 
months, nothing so interesting and earnest as its discussions of 
our denominational position and ailments. And, although in 
regard to these subjects, the opinions expressed have been 
various, we well know that some of the most vigorous minds in 
that quarter of our Connexion have declared that the great 
cause of our evils is Latitudinarianism. We are (say they) not 
sufficiently uniform in our faith and practice — we are not 
enough denominational. We should therefore assume a more 
decidedly sectarian position. 

But — that we may not misapprehend them — let us hear their 
very words : 

" The Christian Connexion of this country came out from 
other parties and formed one more sect about the year 1800. 
I say, sect, because they adopted a name and sentiments differ- 
ent from the parties they had left. Did they do wrong in so 
doing ? If so, they had better return from whence they came. 

" There can be no harm or sin in regarding the Christians 
as a sect. If we were more uniform in faith and practice it 
would be to us, and to the cause of our Saviour, a blessing. 
Our churches have suffered much from false doctrines preached 
by men who were received among us because their moral char- 
acter was good. The phrase ' liberal Christianity ' has often 
ensnared them from its liability to abuse. The Christians 
must have regularity, and look to their own interests, or they 
will be a scattered and devoured people. 

" I would impress upon the minds of our youth a love for 
our affairs and operations. Our children should be taught to 
love the denomination of their fathers' choice. Do this, and, 
when the fathers are dead, their children will walk in the same 
denominational footsteps. None should excuse themselves 



94 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

from this effort for fear of sectarianism. . . . The Chris- 
tians are, and must be, a sect. It cannot and should not be 
avoided. ... In this light I view the Christians : and as 
a member of that Connexion, I should prove recreant to hon- 
esty and consistency if I did not use the means and influences 
in my power to advance her denominational interests in 
preference to all others." 

These paragraphs — copied from a late number of our New 
England organ — are from the pen of an esteemed and influen- 
tial " Christian" minister, and are commended to our attention 
both by the importance of the subject they treat, and by the 
high standing of the writer. 

I commence a brief review of this writer's position by re- 
marking that some of the things which he alleges as causes of 
our denominational woes, are evidently the result of agencies 
over which no possible system of denominational compacture 
can have any control. 

If "our churches have suffered from false doctrines," so have 
the churches of every denomination : — and those whose sectarian 
lines have been tightly drawn, not a whit less than those whose 
denominationalism has been lax or liberal. Creed-governed 
sects have contained as many wicked men, and produced as 
many false doctrines, as the more liberal sects. Wherever a 
deficiency or superficialness of the spirit of Christian life exists, 
there of necessity "false doctrines" will obtain : and they will 
obtain in spite of the most stringent creed that human wisdom 
can devise. For, a church in which the Bible becomes partially 
a dead letter, will experience no difficulty in making its creed 
such also. It is a fact which may be read and known of all men 
that the most stringent creed systems ever employed to govern 
the Church and to preserve its purity, have proved themselves 
utterly impotent to keep alive the love spirit of our faith, or to 
prevent the irruptions of heterodoxy. This last statement is 
amply confirmed by the history of those rigid denominational- 
ists, the older Calvinistic sects. In England, for instance, the 
Presbyterians gradually abandoned the doctrines and govern- 
ment of their founders ; and passing through Arminianism and 
Arianism, have ended in Socinianism. In the Congregational 
churches of New England, what multitudes have apostatized 
from the rigid system of their forefathers into Unitarianism ! 
In the Anglican Church, once Calvinistic in its faith, and still 
Calvinistic in its creed, Arminianism is known to be the actual 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 95 

faith of the great majority of its clergy. The Presbyterian 
Church in the United States, you well remember, was agitated 
a few years ago by an internal controversy which resulted in 
the separation of many thousands from the original body, who, 
strange to say, had come to maintain the very tenets, for the 
exclusion of which, their creed was particularly designed. 
These are instructive facts. We may derive a useful lesson 
from them, at this juncture, in our denominational affairs. 
Suppose we should adopt a strict denominational system. 
What security would we have that our system could preserve 
uniformity of faith, and prevent the entrance "of false doc- 
trine," while these far stricter systems than we could possibly 
adopt, have so signally failed ? 

Nay, my brethren, we cannot prevent "false doctrine" by 
denominational legislation. Should we write the true doctrine 
in a creed book, and demand assent to it of our ministry, and 
unanimously resolve upon its uniformity, the "false doctrine " 
could not even thus be kept at bay. A few years would per- 
haps exhibit us in the predicament of the Church of England ; 
with one kind of doctrines enforced in our creed, and their very 
opposites proclaimed from our pulpits. 

But, says the brother before quoted, — " the Christians must 
have regularity, and look to their own interests ; or they will be 
a scattered and devoured people." 

Very true, we "must have regularity." But what kind of 
regularity ? There is a factitious regularity, the product of 
denominational systems of external order ; and there is a 
heavenly regularity, the harmonious workings of the love 
spirit left to the sole guidance of its own law. Which " regu- 
larity " do we want ? The first mentioned cannot save us from 
being a "scattered and devoured people," because it has not 
saved others. The solemn fact is, that those denominations 
which have had most of the factitious regularity have been the 
most "scattered and devoured people" in Christendom. 
Which of the large, creed -governed, Protestant sects has not 
been divided again and again, in spite of its boasted " regu- 
larity " and "system"? How can we expect this factitious 
"regularity" to do for us what it has not done for others ? 
Regularity, I repeat, we do want ; we must have : — regularity — 
not factitious and earthly (God save us from that) — but heavenly. 
Let the life spirit of our faith inspire our hearts, and we shall 
have " regularity " enough. That will be the regularity of the 



96 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

living, harmoniously developing man ; the other, at best, would 
be but the dead, mechanical regularity of an automaton. And 
such, I believe, would be the "regular mode " proposed in the 
following editorial extract : 

" We want every church to adopt certain rules of agreement 
touching their moral and Christian deportment — their obliga- 
tions to each other and the church with which they unite ; their 
obligations to act together both as private citizens and members 
of one body ; and that these rules of agreement obligate each mem- 
ber to walk by certain specific Scripture rules, such as attend- 
ance upon the various kinds of meetings of the church ; the or- 
dinances ; acting with the church in sustaining the Gospel ac- 
cording to their ability ; maintaining church discipline accord- 
ing to Scripture specifications, etc. 

" We want those who unite with our churches to understand 
that these things are enjoined in the Scriptures, and that all 
who unite with us agree thus to walk. Then we want that our 
conference should adopt rules obligatory on all its members, 
which shall obligate each to act with his brethren in carrying on 
the great work of saving souls, by preaching the doctrine of 
Christ, honouring the name and cause of religion, by a regular 
mode of admission, ordination, examination and labour" 

The plain English of this extract seems to be that " our 
churches " should no longer permit their ministers nor mem- 
bers to understand the Scriptures according to the light which 
God may give to them individually ; and to act according to 
their own views of its requirements, without constraint of their 
brethren : that, on the contrary, our ministers ought to be " ob- 
ligated " by conferential rules, to exercise their ministerial 
functions in that particular mode which a majority of the votes 
of conference may determine; that " every church " ought to 
adopt " certain rules of agreement " touching their obligations 
to each other and to the church of which they are members ; 
and that these rules should " obligate " them to walk by "cer- 
tain specific Scripture rules " ; of which one at least is nowhere 
contained in Scripture : — I mean that one which enjoins " at- 
tendance on the various kinds of meetings of the church." 

I am surprised at such sentiments from such a source — from 
men whom we had ever regarded as earnest and efficient ad- 
vocates of Christian liberty. Strange ! that our real ailment 
could thus escape them ; and for the cure of only incidental 
evils, they would make trial of that factitious regularity which, 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 9? 

as heretofore tried, has ever resulted injuriously for Christian 
freedom and spiritual life. Were the " Christians " a^/, such 
sentiments from their ministers could excite no surprise — would 
seem, indeed, quite consistent and proper ; but professing, as 
they do, principles utterly hostile to sectarianism, how can we 
otherwise than be surprised to hear from " Christian " min- 
isters such utterances as those quoted above ? 

I said — "were the Christians a sect." But, "the Christians 
are a sect," says the brother whom I before quoted; and he 
adds, " / sincerely hope that they will be more denominational 
(sectarian) than ever.' 1 

"The Christians are a sect!" How? Why? Because 
they have " adopted a name and sentiment different from the 
parties they left. " Ah ! Well ! If this constitute a sect, then 
we are a sect, certainly. But I had supposed that in our 
usage of the word "sect" we intended much more than the 
adopting of a particular name and particular sentiments. I 
had supposed that we understood a sectarian to be an exclu- 
sionist — to be void of the catholic spirit of Christianity ; and 
that we regarded sect as differing from schism only as posterior 
differs from prior. 

This, evidently, was the view of the Apostle Paul, as I gather 
from a passage in his First Epistle to the Corinthians (i i : 18, 19), 
" When ye come together in the church, I hear that there be 
divisions among you" (in the original it is schismata, that is 
schisms), "and I partly believe it. For there must also be 
heresies " (in the original the word is haireseis, the same that 
is translated sect wherever this word occurs in the common 
English Bible). " For there must be also sects among you, 
that they which are approved may be made manifest among 
you." 

The sentiment contained in these verses is in substance this : 
That the Apostle could credit the statement which he had 
heard respecting the existence of schisms in the church at 
Corinth, because he had expected that sects would arise among 
them. Evidently then he regarded sect as the fruit of schism. 
What opinions he entertained of schism, he has stated partic- 
ularly at the beginning of the epistle above quoted 
(1 : 10-12) : 

" Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same things ; and that there 
be no divisions among you; " (in the original the word is 



98 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

schismata, that is schisms')—" but that ye be perfectly joined 
together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it 
hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which 
are of the house of Chloe that there are contentions among 
you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith I am of 
Paul ; and I of Apollos ; and I of Cephas ; and I of Christ " 
. — (how like are these to the contentions of schismatics in our 
day : from whom we continually hear, I am of Luther ; arid I 
of Calvin; and I of Wesley). Then presently the Apostle 
adds : " For whereas there are among you envying, and strife, 
and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men ? For while 
one saith, I am of Paul ; and another, I am of Apollos ; are ye 
not carnal ?" 

These divisionists — Paulites and Cephites, and Apollites — 
doubtless composed the " sects " of which mention was made 
in a passage before quoted. How plainly the Apostle rebukes 
these sectarians, telling them, " Ye are carnal, and walk as 
men! " 

In another passage this Apostle has spoken as follows : 

" Now the works of the flesh are manifest ; which are these : 
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, 
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, sedi- 
tions, sects (the original is haireseis, as before), envyings, 
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I 
tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they 
who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" 
(Galations 19 : 20). 

How awful is this statement ! The confirmed sectarian ranks 
with drunkards and murderers ! He "shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God." 

Perhaps it is not generally known that "Sectarian" and 
"Heretic" are convertible terms. — Perhaps, indeed, common 
usage has established some difference of signification between 
these words. But then, it is a very suggestive fact that the 
word heresy and sect as found in the English Bible, are repre- 
sentatives of one and the self-same "original " word. And it 
is by no blunder of our translators that it is so : for, " Sect " 
had never an existence, except "heresy" had produced it; 
and " Heresy " (as popularly understood) is not heresy except 
it beget the sect-spirit. Accordingly, in the New Testament, 
"heresy" and "sect" are used interchangeably; and heretic 
and sectarian are essentially the same. Heresy, then, does 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 99 

not consist in merely holding opinions differing from those of 
the majority of a given body of religionists. Heresy, as dis- 
tinguished by the New Testament, respects a state of heart 
rather than a form of opinion. Dr. MacKnight justly remarks 
that 

" Heresies, being ranked among the works of the flesh, must 
be opinions in religion embraced from pride of understanding 
and, factiously obtruded on others, in opposition to a man's 
own conviction, for the sake of worldly interest." 

Admitting the correctness of this definition of Heresy, who 
then is a heretic ? Let us put a case. Suppose a certain member 
in good standing in one of " our churches," becomes a con- 
vert to the doctrine that all men will ultimately become holy 
and happy: — becomes in sentiment a Universalist. He con- 
tinues the same earnest and devoted man that his friends have 
ever known him ; lives a life of Christian obedience, and as- 
sociates with his brethren, as before, in the relations and duties 
of the Church. What should the Church do with such a man ? 
Should it " labour" with him? and, if he did not renounce 
his opinion, excommunicate him ? That is what some churches 
would do with him ; unless, perchance, he were wealthy. But 
why should this man be "laboured" with as a "heretic"? 
he is a Christian ; — fulfills (as far as man may judge), all his 
duties; talks about his opinions to be sure, and advocates 
them ; but is not factious ; foments no divisions in the Church ; 
and leads a life of Christian obedience. Certainly it were a 
gross violation of charity to arraign such a man, and con- 
demn him as a " heretic." What if he does entertain erroneous 
opinions ! Does he not in his obedience afford Scriptural evi- 
dence that he is a member of Christ's universal Church ? If 
Christ can fellowship him, cannot you ? If he is a member of 
Christ's great family of beloved and holy ones, is he not good 
enough to remain a member of your Christian organization ? 
" Excommunicate him for heresy ! " Beware how you do that. 
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My 
brethren " — will the King say — "ye have done it unto Me." 

Dr. Gieseler informs us that the Christians of the primitive 
age understood a distinction between Faith (pistis) and Opinion 
(gnosis). Their received articles of faith, he tells us, were few 
and simple ; and ample room was afforded for the exercise of 
private judgment. Christianity, as they regarded it, compre- 
hended the essential elements of spiritual life. Metaphysical 



100 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

theories and theological disputations they did not regard so 
highly : nor did they consider differences in respect to these 
as requiring the exercise of the church discipline. 

In this respect I think the early Christians acted wisely. 
Faith is distinct from Opinion. Happy if the Church had ever 
regarded it so ! Christian faith is the fruit of the heart : — " with 
the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Opinion — (even 
theological opinion) — is but the offspring of the head ; and 
often, alas ! it comes forth — as Minerva is fabled to have sprung 
from the brain of Jupiter — armed, and fierce for conflict. Oh ! 
that the Church in this age would recognize the primitive dis- 
tinction between Faith and Opinion. Then might it learn that 
multitudes whose opinions are irreconcilable and conflictive, 
and who therefore look suspiciously upon each other, are one in 
faith — co-heirs of the same glorious inheritance. 

To present this point more clearly, I beg your attention to 
one or two Scripture statements. For instance, when it said : 

" Without faith it is impossible to please God : for he that 
cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a re- 
warder of them that diligently seek Him " (Hebrews n : 6). 

Here are stated two facts which every man that cometh to 
God " must believe." First, he must believe that there is a 
God — " that He is." Secondly, he must believe that God "is 
a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." These two 
points the Apostle presents as articles of faith ; they are not to 
be regarded as matters of opinion. — Suppose, now, some one 
should answer, " I grant that God exists, and it is well thus to 
believe; but it is necessary to understand how He exists." I 
would reply, Nay, not so ; that belongs to the department of 
Opinion ; it has nothing to do with Faith. The Apostle does 
not say that we "must believe " how God exists, in order to 
"come to Him," — that we must hold some particular theory 
respecting the mode of God's Being. No such thing. We 
may have our theory of this subject if we want it, and can ob- 
tain it honestly ; but we should know that theory — that opinion, 
is not faith. 

Let me illustrate the application of this principle. The 
Rev. Dr. Woods and Rev. Dr. Pond are two eminent ortho- 
dox theologians, and, I believe I may add, Christians. They 
both believe that God exists, but they differ as respects the 
mode of His existence. Dr. Woods believes that God exists in 
three distinct persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ' ' The 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 101 

Father," says he, "is a person — that is, an intelligent, moral, 
voluntary, individual being. The Son is equally possessed of 
what is essential to personality. He has a will distinct from 
His Father. The Holy Spirit has all the marks of personality. 
The Father and Son are two distinct persons as much as Jacob 
and Joseph are two distinct persons. But there are not three 
Gods." 

Dr. Pond teaches differently. He tells us that "three en- 
tirely distinct intellects, sensibilities, and wills constitute three 
separate, independent minds ; or (which is the same), three 
Gods," if predicated of the " Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 

Thus, then, what Dr. Woods regards as the correct view of 
the mode in which the one God exists, Dr. Pond declares to 
be equivalent to believing the existence of three Gods. What 
then? Is Dr. Woods or Dr. Pond, therefore, without faith? 
Not at all. They both heartily believe that God "is," and 
that "He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." 
Their faith is, therefore, the same ; they differ in respect to an 
opinion. 

But now, should one of these brethren say to the other, 
" You, sir, reject my view of the mode of God's existence : I 
account this to be a rejection of the faith. I will henceforth 
hold no fellowship with you. I will regard and hate you as a 
heretic." Would this be right? Nay, indeed! It would be 
sectarian, unchristian, wicked. 

Take another illustration. In order to become a Christian 
one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. St. John 
tells us in his "Gospel," — "These things were written that ye 
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and 
that, believing, ye might have life through His name." 

Observe here that "life" is offered upon the condition of 
believing (with the heart, of course) that Jesus Christ is the 
Son of God. Now, if an humble, sincere man thus accepts 
Jesus, will not that acceptance procure him " life " ? 

Ah! — some one replies — it is easy to say, "I believe that 
Jesus Christ is the Son of God ; " a Unitarian could do that. 
But tell us how He is God's Son : — whether by " Eternal 
Generation," or by His supernatural birth, or by His resurrec- 
tion from the dead. Come, let us know what is your faith re- 
specting this point. 

I would answer, My dear sir, this is not a point of faith, it is 
a matter of opinion. I believe the fact that Jesus is the Son of 



102 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

God ; and have submitted to His authority. But respecting 
how He is God's Son, I have never yet been able to form a 
satisfactory opinion. 

Now, if Christians do differ in opinion, ought such differ- 
ences to proceed to the extent of causing divisions and separa- 
tions among them? Cannot Christians of different opinions 
" walk together " in church relations ? Can they not cooperate 
for the furtherance of the interests of piety and humanity ? 
Can they not unite in worship, and meet at the communion 
board with those whom they expect to meet in the pure worship 
and spiritual communion of heaven ? Why cannot Christians 
consent to bear with one another's frailties and mistaken 
opinions ? Difference of opinions does not justify alienations in 
your families ; why should it cause them in the family of God ? 
You do not debar your neighbour from the communings of the 
social circle because he differs with you in his views of various 
topics upon which you converse ; why then should you debar 
from your church communion your Christian brother because 
he cannot view some few points in the same light that you see 
them ? Shall mutual forbearance be exercised everywhere but 
in the Church of God ? 

Come, now; if Christ has received us, let us receive one 
another ; let us give each other the fraternal hand. We will 
let opinions separate us no more. Believe you as you shall see 
reason for believing — I will do the same. Be a Calvinist if you 
must, or an Arminian ; it is enough for me to know that you 
are a Christian. As a Christian I will receive you. 

Would not this be right ? is it not desirable ? 

Desirable ! " Who desires " — says a brother before quoted 
— " to class in the same church an honest Calvinist and an 
honest Free- wilier ? " (Question, Does not Jesus Christ?) 
" Let Calvinists have organizations by themselves. Free-grace 
believers by themselves, and so on." 

" And so on I " But, how far " on " ? Let us see : There 
will need be several kinds of Calvinistic organizations; for 
there are several classes of Calvinists : there are " Hyper-Cal- 
vinists," "Strict Calvinists," and "Moderate Calvinists." 
These are subdivided by opinions on various topics. For 
instance, in regard to church government, there are Calvinists 
who believe in Episcopacy, in Presbyterianism, in Congrega- 
tionalism, and in Independency. Calvinists believing in 
Episcopacy are separated into " High Churchmen " and " Low 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 103 

Churchmen." Calvinists believing in Congregationalism are 
divided by the Baptismal question. Some of them are Bap- 
tists ; some are Pedo-Baptist. Calvinists believing in Presby- 
terianism are divided into the " Regular" (as the Church of 
Scotland) and " Dissenting." Dissenting-Presbyterian-Calvin- 
ists are divided into " Relief-Synod," " Reformed-Synod," 
"Seceder," and so on. Seceder-Dissenting-Presbyterian-Cal- 
vinists were formerly divided into " Burghers " and ^Anti- 
Burghers " ; which, however, were mostly united some thirty 
years ago, and now form the " United Secession Church." 
But this does not include the sect known as "Original Seceders." 
Now, if a difference of opinion respecting "Free-will" can 
justify us in saying, " Let Calvinists have organizations by 
themselves, and Free-grace believers by themselves," why may 
we not say also, let the "United Secession "-Dissenting -Pres- 
byterian-Calvinists have organizations by themselves, and the 
" Original Seceder "- Dissenting - Presbyterian - Calvinists by 
themselves ! And if we may say, " Who desires to class in 
the same church an honest Calvinist and an honest Free- 
wilier " ? why may we not also say, Who desires to class in 
the same church an honest Pro-Slavery-Methodist-Episcopal- 
believer-in-the-Immersion-of-Believers-only, with an honest 
Anti-Slavery-Methodist-Episcopal-believer-in-infant-sprinkling? 
Or to go "on" yet further (for all this talk is about opinion 
qualifications concerning which the Bible says nothing), Who 
desires to class in the same church a Protective-Tariffite and a 
Free-trader ? Why should there not be parties of Free-trade 
Christians and High-tariff Christians, each having an organiza- 
tion by itself, as well as the Calvinists and Free-willers ? Is 
not Free-trade as proper a test of church fellowship as Free- 
will? True, the Bible does not authorize us to make Free- 
trade a basis of church fellowship, but neither does it to make 
Free-will. Now, to go " on " still further — Why should we not 
justify the formation of a new sect upon the basis of every new 
notion that any good man may chance upon and imagine to be 
important? Yea, why not? "No two can walk together ex- 
cept they be agreed," says a good brother, before quoted: 
and another brother — a former editor of our New England 
organ and now an ex-member of the "Connexion " — assures 
us that good men " ever will, in the nature of things, differ 
more or less in their theological views ; and to fuse them into 
one organization is not the way to promote Christian union." 



104 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CHAIG 

I say, then, let sects and divisions be multiplied. Let every 
view and every opinion in theology be made the basis of a sepa- 
rate sect-organization. Let our hundreds of sects become thou- 
sands. In every village where one church would be sufficient 
(but where there are now two or three), let there be a dozen or 
twenty. And then let all these churches sedulously cultivate 
a denominational spirit. Let every good man connected with 
them tell his brethren — " We are a sect. I sincerely hope we 
will be more denominational than ever ! We must look to our 
own interests. Our children should be taught to love the de- 
nomination of their fathers' choice. I will use all the influence 
and means in my power to advance our denominational interest 
in preference to all others." 

If every member in every sect of the thousands thus to be 
formed should so resolve, gracious Heaven ! when would the 
prayer of Jesus be answered, and His followers become one ? 

" The prayer of Jesus ! Did Jesus pray for the unity of His 
followers?" Indeed He did. Read His prayer recorded in 
the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel : 

" Holy Father ! keep through Thine own name those whom 
Thou hast given Me, that they may be one as we are. . . . 
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall be- 
lieve on Me through their word ; that they all may be one ; as 
Thou Father art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be 
one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." 

Christians would be one in a very intimate sense, if they 
were one as Jesus and His Father are. If all Christians were 
one in them, then were separations and strifes and discords 
ended forever. 

And why should not unity reign in the fold of Christ ? God 
has provided His followers with every element necessary for 
unity. The Church has ever had one faith (Eph. 4 : 5). In 
this "one faith" all Christians are united, how much soever 
they may be at variance in their opinions. Then again, we 
have "one Lord," "one hope," "one calling," "one bap- 
tism." There is also "one Spirit," and it is said in Scripture 
that Christians "have been all made to drink into one spirit " 
(1 Cor. 12:13). In tnis consisted the unity of the first Chris- 
tians — " the multitude of them that believed were of one heart 
and of one soul " (Acts 4 : 32). Nothing is said about their 
opinions ; we are told simply that they were united in affection 
and in purpose. They kept " the unity of the spirit " ; and 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 105 

"by one spirit they were all baptized into one body " 
(i Cor. 12 : 13). 

In several places in the New Testament the Church is repre- 
sented under the figure of the human body ; of this mystic 
body Christ is the head, and all His followers are members. 
So Paul in a certain place says, 

" As we have many members in one body, ... so we, 
being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members 
one of another " (Rom. 12:4, 5). 

In another place, 1 Corinthians 12 : 24, 25, the same Apostle 
tells us that 

"God hath tempered the body together; . . . that 
there should be no schism in the body, but that the members 
should have the same care one for another." 

God therefore designs that the utmost unity shall reign in 
His Church— that it shall be " One Body." But how, I pray 
you, can the Church become "one body," so long as it is 
sundered into a thousand fragments ? How can we be truly 
"members one of another," while we are separated into in- 
numerable sects, and will hold no church fellowship with each 
other? And how can Christians feel "the same care one for 
another," when each connects himself with a little exclusive 
party; and determines that he will "use the means and in- 
fluence in his power to advance her denominational interest in 
preference to all others " ? 

My brethren, we have no right, under any pretense, to make 
divisions in the Church of Christ. We have no right to form 
an ecclesiastical organization upon principles and regulations 
of our own devising, and name it a Christian church. — We 
have a right — we who are Christians in any place — to associate 
as a church upon the principles established by Jesus. If we do 
this, we shall be a Christian church differing from the Church 
universal only as the part differs from the whole. In this case 
we shall be true unionists ; and all who refuse our fellowship, 
knowing that we stand upon the original principles of the Church, 
will be schismatics ; and must answer to God for their sin. 

Into the Church thus constituted, we have no right to refuse 
admission to any Christian who applies for our fellowship. All 
local churches, being parts of the Church universal, should be 
governed by the laws which Christ has ordained for the Church : 
not by conferential enactments, and regulations of their own 
invention. They shall also extend the same kind of fellowship, 



106 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

and practice the same kind of communion, that Christ has in- 
stituted for His one Church. In so far as any church recedes 
from the observance of those laws which Christ has ordained 
for the government of His Church, either by dropping some of 
them or by adding others of their own construction ; and in so 
far as any church adopts any other basis of fellowship, or es- 
tablishes any other kind of communion, than that which the 
sole Head and Lawgiver of the Church has appointed ; in so 
far, that church becomes either a mere human institution, or a 
" synagogue of Satan." 

Some there are who, I fear, will deem these remarks unkind 
or unreasonably earnest. I assure such that I design no un- 
kindness by these remarks. If I have spoken very earnestly, 
it is from a conviction of duty caused by a sense of the enor- 
mous evil of sectarianism. That sectarianism is an evil, most 
thoughtful persons admit. But the mass of those whose atten- 
tion has not been particularly given to its principles, and who 
have seen little of its practical working, will scarcely deem it so 
great an evil as I have represented it. Oh ! that they might 
see it in all the horrid deformity of its real character. Oh ! 
that God-fearing men everywhere would join heart and hand 
for its overthrow. Oh ! that the youth of our country — as yet 
untrammelled by sect influences, and generously aspiring to 
worthy deeds — would be persuaded to cast the weight of their 
talents and influence against sectarianism, that monster enemy 
of man and of God. 

Am I too earnest in this ? Well, be it so — I cannot speak 
carelessly and dispassionately of sectarianism. I cannot forget 
that my Saviour, with almost His dying breath, prayed ear- 
nestly for the unity of His Church. Could He remember it in 
the dark hour of His death-agony, and shall His follower for- 
get it ? Nay ! Be such prayer ever upon my tongue, and its 
spirit ever in my heart ! — " Neither pray I for these alone, but 
for them also which shall believe on Me through their word ; 
that they all may be one ; . . . that the world may be- 
lieve that Thou hast sent Me." 

The conversion of the world to Christianity is thus suspended 
upon the unity of Christians. Make all believers truly "one" 
— one in spirit, one in aim, one in holy effort — and you bring 
all nations to the feet of Jesus. Divide the Church by sects 
and conflicting interests, and you deprive the Gospel of its 
power, and strengthen the hands of unbelief. 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 107 

'* What few religious promptings have fallen to my lot," said 
a young man of fine talents and influential position, "are ever 
encountered by the great stumbling-block of sectarianism." 
This is the experience of multitudes. The divisions in the 
Church are the great stumbling-block by which many fall into 
indifference and skepticism and ruin ! 

O Sectarianism ! thou enemy of all righteousness ! thou bane 
of charity ! thou fomenter of infernal discords ! thou who art 
fattening upon the bleeding hearts and ruined souls of men ! 
thou who hast mangled and torn asunder the mystic body of 
the Son of God ! thou who hast mocked His expiring agonies, 
and set at naught His dying prayer ! Arch-fiend of the 
universe ! God hasten thy return to thy native hell ! 

And He will hasten it. Sectarianism shall not always curse 
the earth, and rend the Church of God. Messiah's prayer shall 
be answered. " He shall see the travail of His soul and shall 
be satisfied." The "Body" of our Great Master— like Him 
entombed a while — shall arise and live. " The Lion of the 
tribe of Judah" will again prevail. With the grasp of omnip- 
otence will He raise His Church from her grave, and will speak 
in her ear that long lost word of her ancient power, " Love 
one another: " and the living Church will hear it and will 
speak it again, — Love one another ! Ah ! could we understand 
it, in this lies the power of our religion. So, at least, the 
primitive Church believed, and so its example evinced. "See 
how these Christians love one another," was the testimony 
which the faithfulness of the primitive believers extorted from 
their adversaries. The living, ever active love of the early 
Christians was the argument that stopped the mouths of skep- 
tic-sophists, and the power that blunted the sword of persecu- 
tors. It was this that caused the pagan nations to cast away 
their idol-gods and bow to the authority of Jesus. It is this 
that the Church needs now. It needs a revival of the spirit of 
Divine love — of brotherly kindness — of charity, that it may 
learn to bear with the weakness of brethren — and of self-devo- 
tion, not to sect interests, but to the universal interests of the 
kingdom of God. 

This is what the Church needs, and this is what our Con- 
nexion needs. We must cease our scheming and contriving 
for mere denominational advantage, and must learn to regard 
the interests of the whole Christian brotherhood. We should 
have less theologizing : we have so much of it that many of us 



108 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

have fallen into the error of regarding a few controverted 
dogmas as the very vitality of our faith. We cannot prosper if 
we are much occupied with disputings about opinions — with 
theologic hair-splittings and dogma-mongerings. The atmos- 
phere which nourishes these things is destructive of spiritual 
health. Let us abandon it to those who find it congenial. Let 
us determine to accept Christianity as the life of the heart — as 
a love-religion. This will do us good. This is what " our 
churches" need. We do not need a new form, but a new 
life — not coincidence of opinions and uniformity of practices, 
but the unity of the spirit — not an adoption of "obligatory" 
conferential enactments, but an increased obedience to God's 
commandments. 

An esteemed brother says : 

" If we would promote union and harmony among us, there 
is a far better course than making laws. Let us not be so self- 
righteous — pretending we have done the best under the laws 
we have. Let us own that our law is perfect, and that we 
have failed in obeying it ; and now, let us yield fully to its 
commands, and plainly teach them to all the people. For this 
purpose we need no conference or council to tell us what to 
teach. Our true course is to bring out the law of the Lord as 
God Himself caused it to be written ; and not on the authority 
of men assembled in conference ; but on the authority of the 
God of heaven — not as the faith of 'our sect,' but as the Gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ. Christian union is not promoted by com- 
mands, laws, or tests, established by men in council ; but by 
plainly teaching the Gospel of Christ, and urging obedience 
thereunto by the authority of God." 

These are true statements. They deserve especial consider- 
ation of the ministry of our Connexion. I wish we might all 
realize the immediate, pressing necessity of fuller and more 
faithful dispensations of gospel truth. We should preach more 
truth from our pulpits ; more home truth, more practical truth. 
We should have less to say of dogmas, and speculations, and 
theories, and should devote ourselves rather to preaching the 
fundamental facts, and enforcing the life-giving principles of 
the Gospel. 

Our pulpit instructions should take a wider range. They 
are narrow and restricted. Many of the great interests of the 
Church they scarcely touch. There are truths which society is 
languishing to hear, and which it should hear from the pulpit ; 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 109 

but, alas ! the pulpit rarely utters them. Such are those truths 
which concern the physical and social welfare of mankind. The 
pulpit should teach men the conditions upon which God has 
suspended their physical perfection and happiness. It should 
teach them the proper government of the animal appetites. It 
should teach them how to render the body subservient to the 
supreme interests of the soul. " The body," says Paul, " is 
for the Lord " (i Cor. 6 : 13). In accordance with this prin- 
ciple he taught that it is the "reasonable service" of men to 
present their bodies "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable 
unto God" (Romans 12: 1). Were there more sanctification 
of the body, there would be more sanctification of the spirit ; 
that is, were men more faithful to study and obey the laws of 
their physical being, many of the hindrances to virtue, which 
they now experience, would be removed. Instruction of this 
kind comes properly within the province of the pulpit ; for 
without it, how shall men be able to glorify God in their 
bodies? (1 Cor. 9: 20), and whether they eat or drink, or 
whatsoever they do, to do all to the glory of God? 
(1 Cor. 19 : 31). 

I think that the laws of man's physical nature should be 
explained and enforced in the pulpit. I think that the general 
usefulness of the pulpit would be much increased, were it more 
frequently occupied for the promulgation of those truths which 
regard man's physical and social interests. This class of truths 
— ever important — has at the present time a special claim upon 
the attention of the ministry. Look at the alarming prevalence 
of gluttony and sensuality. See how secret vice is eating out 
the life of multitudes of the youth of our country. Here are 
causes continually operative, whose certain effects are to blunt 
the moral sensibilities of their subjects, and to unfit them for 
spiritual perception and elevated thought. To these evils I 
see not how the ministry can remain indifferent. Upon the 
pulpit devolves, I believe, the solemn duty of exposing these 
evils, and attempting their cure. They should be made the sub- 
ject of careful and judicious, but at the same time, earnest and 
faithful appeals to the consciences of men. Happy will that 
minister be who, in the day of his departure, can adopt the 
words of Paul — "I kept back nothing that was profitable unto 
you ; ... for I have not shunned to declare unto you all 
the counsel of God." 

There is another much neglected class of truths that society 



110 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CKAIG 

is suffering to hear. I refer to those truths which relate to 
man's social welfare. 

Multitudes are struggling in social positions to which they 
are mentally and physically unadapted. And, because they 
are thus unadapted, their life proves a failure for themselves, 
and a disadvantage to society. What course should the pulpit 
pursue in regard to these things ? Shall it leave society to 
struggle out its own deliverance from the multiplied evils 
which oppress it ? Or, shall it not rather interest itself in the 
social movements of the age; secure the sympathies of the 
struggling masses, and teach them how to apply the principles 
of Jesus in every emergency arising in their social progress ? 
I trust that our pulpits will not fail to speak earnestly and 
plainly of the wants, duties, and social elevation of that large 
portion of our race, to whom it was emphatically said by the 
Saviour, " The Gospel is preached." 

Let none fear that the dignity of the pulpit will be compro- 
mised by such a course. The real dignity of the pulpit con- 
sists in its faithful dispensation of truth. It is the appointed 
dispenser of all useful truth. And the Church is a divinely 
instituted society for universal reform. Hence, every evil that 
afflicts society or individuals comes properly within the prov- 
ince of church action and pulpit ministration. Though we 
are never to forget that the great evil of society and of man, 
the source of all human woes, is a heart evil; and that the 
chief attention of every faithful reformer must be directed to 
the production of a radical change in individual hearts and 
lives. 

"Make Christians," says the celebrated M. Guizot, in an 
address recently delivered before the French Bible Society, 
"make Christians; it is Christians that our society requires. 
I say Christians, that is our name ; that is what we ought to 
propagate. Our society ardently desires to make Christians 
everywhere. It calls by that name all who take the sacred 
writings as the basis of their faith, of their hope and of their 
charity. Whether they be in the bosom of the Catholic Church, 
or in the different branches of the Protestant Church, it sees in 
them Christians and brethren. Union in the party of political 
order is recommended, and rightly so ; that union is in fact 
the only means of safety ; but it is not less necessary to the 
party of moral order. The question is now between Chris- 
tianity and Impiety, which affects to advocate the interests of 



THE CONFERENCE ADDRESS 111 

Humanity. All Christian forces should unite against the com- 
mon enemy — they can do it. A new fact has introduced 
itself,— liberty of conscience in the Christian Church. Let 
that liberty be accepted and respected by all Christians; it will 
secure their union, and the triumph of the common faith. 

" But beware of a factitious and forced union ; be Christians 
to the fullest extent of the word. Love one another ; that is 
charity. Support one another ; that is tolerance. Respect one 
another ; that is the right of liberty. Assist one another ; that 
is your well understood interest. On these conditions, and 
on these alone, there is safety for society. We are in the path 
of that safety. Christians be all together under the standard 
of the cross — Hoc signo vinces." 

Nobly and truly said ! "It is Christians that our society 
requires." It is Christians that the Church needs for its puri- 
fication ; that the world needs for its deliverance. Oh ! for 
more Christians; for true-hearted, self-denying followers of 
Jesus ! Oh ! that an end may speedily come to the wild, 
destructive reign of Dogma and Sect; and that their place 
may be occupied by Christian Obedience and Brotherly Love ! 

The address aroused the convention, it aroused the 
whole " Christian " Connexion, it aroused other religious 
bodies. It no doubt disturbed some, angered some and 
perplexed others, leaving them in doubt where they 
themselves stood, but it went steadily forward in its 
course winning new friends to the cause of sane religion, 
winning new friends for the fearless man who spoke from 
the depth of his heart in all charity and kindness. Its 
splendid temperateness, no less than its absolute sincerity, 
appealed. Sharp discussion followed its delivery coupled 
with the introduction of a resolution requesting that he 
withdraw the paper from publication in the Tribune. 
All acknowledged its potency, though many feared its 
effect, but the resolution was voted down and Truth 
went on its way. 



VII 

AT BLOOMING GROVE 

AS we follow the career of Austin Craig from its 
beginning to the end of an all too short life, we 
shall find that it was a constant succession of 
advances. There were no retreats. There were no weak- 
ening concessions, no temporizing, no hesitation, no de- 
flection. There were battles for the right to be fought, 
but he was equipped for them in the strength of a 
splendid Christian manhood, and he fought them always 
in the open. The preliminary work as an itinerant 
preacher proved invaluable to him as he entered upon a 
larger field. It had broadened him. It had shown him 
many sides of life. It had brightened him by its attri- 
tion and strengthened him by its culture. Feltville, too, 
had helped fit him for the broader field. He had stayed 
just long enough in the itinerary, long enough to brush 
up against men of diverse types, long enough to gain the 
needed experience, not long enough to fall into the sad 
groove of the hackneyed travelling preacher, often im- 
provident, always poor, frequently robbed of all self- 
respect by humiliating dependence upon charity. 

The work at Feltville was so difficult a one, his labour 
there was watched with deep interest by many who had 
hoped to gain him for their own congregations. It was 
so signally successful it heightened the interest in his 
pastoral power and opened the way to calls to larger fields. 
In Orange County, New York, near the Hudson Eiver, 
is situated Blooming Grove, a lovely country place within 
a rich farming region. It contained an historic church. 

112 



AT BLOOMING GEOVE 113 

It was established in 1757, and had been ministered to 
by preachers of the Congregational and Presbyterian 
faiths. The church was founded by a colony of immi- 
grants from Long Island, descendants of the Puritans. 
The parish was a large one and the church commodious 
and modern. The members of the church were largely 
well-to-do farmers of the region. They were a sturdy, 
God-fearing company of men and women, devout in their 
faith but singularly open to the truth. There were more 
college- bred men in that church than in any other in the 
county. They were thinking men and women. They 
had been for nearly a century identified with an orthodox 
faith, but while they clung tenaciously to the essentials 
of real religion, many of them were not satisfied with the 
man-made theology of the day but were ready and anx- 
ious to accept a broader faith. The church, in the words 
of the pastor who was to be called to them, was l i an ex- 
ample of the powerlessness of ecclesiastical creeds and 
denominational prudential regulations to hinder religious 
progress and to exclude new light." 

In 1824, Eev. James Arbuckle of Philadelphia, became 
pastor of the church. He was of the Presbyterian faith, 
affiliated with the Presbytery of the Hudson. He was a 
vigorous thinker with a will all his own. He preached 
certain things which some of the congregation did not 
like and they severely arraigned him for his departures 
from the Presbyterian creed. The major portion of his 
congregation, however, adhered to him and he led them 
as their pastor until his death three years later. 

The church was then supplied by different ministers 
while an earnest search was continued for some man who 
could fill the needs of the place. The time was ripe in 
the church for a change, or, better put, for a broadening. 
Though it may not have taken shape in words there were 
many indications that it was destined to become an inde- 



114 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

pendent church. There had been powerful preachers in 
the church in the past, men of thought, vigour, original- 
ity, effectiveness s it would not do that any one less tal- 
ented should be chosen. 

One day some member of the congregation bethought 
himself of the young Christian minister, Austin Craig, 
who was winning such favourable notice as a pastor, a 
deep thinker, a sound and broad scholar. He seemed 
precisely the person. A call was extended to him to 
become the pastor of this historic church. In answer he 
wrote the following letter : 

"New York City, Nov. IJ, 1850. 
" H. J. Moffat, 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y. 
" Dear Sir and Brother : 

"Your letter of the 4th instant, inviting me to assume 
the pastoral relation to the church at Blooming Grove, was 
placed in my hand a few days ago by Brother Lane. I tender 
my thanks to the church for this unexpected and gratifying 
expression of their confidence. Before I signify my acceptance 
of the invitation, I wish to afford the church an opportunity of 
becoming better acquainted with my doctrines and principles, 
and of reconsidering their vote inviting me to become their 
pastor. The relation sustained by a Christian pastor to the 
church of his charge, is too intimate and important to be hastily 
formed or hastily dissolved. I purpose therefore (if the Lord 
permit) to preach to the church at Blooming Grove on Sunday 
the 24th instant, with a view of making a statement of my 
views of Christ and His Gospel (so far as it shall seem proper), 
for the satisfaction of the church. If, after I shall have made 
this statement, the church shall still desire my pastoral services, 
it will be my pleasure to accept their call. 

" Fraternally yours, 

"Austin Craig." 

Not long afterwards he sent the following letter to his 
old friend David Felt, the founder of Feltville, which 
brought out the letter of commendation given in the pre- 
ceding chapter : 



AT BLOOMING GROVE 115 

" About two weeks ago I received from the Independent 
Presbyterian Church at Blooming Grove, N. Y., a very unex- 
pected * call ' to become pastor of their society. The knowl- 
edge which I had obtained of the people of that section, in two 
visits which I made to Blooming Grove this season, produced 
a very favourable opinion of them, and led me to regard with 
some interest the ' call ' thus given me. I replied stating that 
I would visit them before finally answering them, and would 
preach my views of Christ and the Gospel ; after which, if they 
should freely and unitedly reaffirm their former vote, I should 
be disposed to accept the * call. ' 

" Pursuant to this view, I visited them Sunday before last, 
preached to them as I purposed, and have received from their 
clerk the statement that their * call ' has been reaffirmed. It 
seems to me that I ought to accept this call. My reasons are 
these : — The situation is one, in every respect, desirable; in a 
fine region of country, in a wealthy and very intelligent com- 
munity — a large and influential society, and a fair prospect of 
extended influence and usefulness. Besides, the salary is 
ample, and the pulpit labour required very light, — one service 
per day — leaving me much leisure for other means of useful- 
ness — the pen, etc. 

" A second consideration which inclines me to accept the 
call is drawn from the nature of my connection here ; I need 
not tell you that you, yourself, are, pecuniarily at least, the 
1 Society ' of this place. The permanence of my situation 
here, is, then, at the utmost, identical with the continuance of 
a single life. Some time, it might be expected, should I live, 
that your withdrawal from the village, by death, or otherwise, 
would end the enterprise of the Free Religious Society, which 
your liberality has hitherto sustained. Such a situation as is 
now offered me, is not to be found within the limits of my own 
denomination ; and it is not likely that I could find at any 
time hereafter, a place equally to be desired on so many ac- 
counts. In view of these facts, I defer to your judgment, 
whether it would not seem advisable for me to accept the 
proffered situation. 

" In saying these things, I beg you will not understand me 
as hereby implying any dissatisfaction with my present posi- 
tion. I believe that I have found it as pleasant as any one in 
the same position could find it. The people of the village, 
without exception, as well as yourself and Mrs. Felt, have ever 



116 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

shown me all proper kindness and regard ; and I will here take 
the opportunity to thank you and her — in this somewhat formal 
way — for your many hospitalities and kindnesses to me. You 
have done much, pecuniarily, for the establishment and sup- 
port of the Gospel in your village." 

In March, 1851, lie was installed pastor of the church 
at Blooming Grove. It was a long pastorate which fol- 
lowed, where the closest possible intimacy between pastor 
and people blossomed and fruited in mutual regard. 
The church building was large and well equipped, the 
largest country church in the county. It seated about a 
thousand. Connected with the church was a flourishing 
academy. But one service a day was held, in the morn- 
ing, with a lecture in the middle of the week. "Far 
better, " the new pastor wrote, soon after accepting the 
charge, "this praiseworthy practice of one sermon a 
week, than three sermons a week and a lecture besides in 
the middle of the week. I wonder what young man is 
competent to preach 200 sermons a year worth listening 
to ! I should much rather my minister should preach 
fifty than 200." 

Much leisure was now given for the deep study he had 
begun into the Greek and Hebrew. He had leisure, too, 
for writing, and he began that long course of contribu- 
tions to the press which continued to his death. The 
physical location of the church was most attractive, too, 
and conducive to reflection and study. ' ' The Blooming 
Grove church, parsonage, academy and district school- 
house," he writes to a friend, "occupy the summit and 
shoulder of a hill covered in part even now with the oaks 
which more than a century ago embowered the first social 
and churchly life of the town, and suggested its appro- 
priate name, Blooming Grove. But the churchgoers can 
no longer step over, at l intermission/ from the church 
door to a tavern near by, — as ancient traditions hint. 



AT BLOOMING GROVE 117 

For the town of Blooming Grove has since those days 
been the 'banner town' of the county, for temperance. 
And as for that sacred spot — the original Blooming 
Grove, there is now no tavern, no, nor store, nor post-of- 
fice, within two miles of it. For reading and study, for 
meditation and communion with one's own heart, this 
Blooming Grove is the fittest of places." 

A lecture course was established and each winter season 
prominent speakers from the larger cities were heard. It 
was as a result of correspondence with one of these lec- 
turers, the Hon. Horace Mann, then — and shall we not 
say even now ? — one of the foremost educators of America, 
that Mr. Craig became acquainted with Mr. Mann. It 
was an acquaintanceship that deepened and strengthened 
with the years, uniting in close sympathy two men of 
large powers. The compensation paid for these lectures, 
twenty -five dollars a night and travelling expenses, seems 
curiously inadequate when the character and standing of 
the speakers are taken into consideration ; but it was not 
a day of billionism. 

The day before Horace Mann delivered his first lecture 
in Blooming Grove, he wrote to his wife : 

" Some natural affinity has led these people in their search, 
to find their present man, Mr. Austin Craig. He is now about 
twenty-eight years of age, and a most extraordinary young man. 
He was led to invite me here by seeing my ' Thoughts for a 
Young Man.' He devotes himself very much to the young. 
He is very earnest and sincere ; has a fine cerebral develop- 
ment, though small in the lungs. His introductory remarks 
this morning and also his sermon were exceedingly beautiful in 
spirit and in manner, all based on phrenology, 1 and full of most 

1 Phrenology is here used in its older sense synonymous more nearly 
with psychology. Mr. Mann was an ardent admirer and personal 
friend of the Englishman George Combe who defined phrenology ac- 
ceptably to Mr. Mann, as "The philosophy of the human mind as 
manifested through the medium of the brain." 



118 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

delightful religious spirit. His people are sensible enough to 
have but one service a day ; so we have spent the afternoon to- 
gether, in company, too, with a college-educated farmer; and 
I find them full of a love of truth, entirely emancipated from 
old theological dogmas, and sympathizing hereby with all prog- 
ress. Aside from Howe and Downer, I hardly know another 
such a lover of the true, and yet so young. He wrote to me a 
long time ago for liberty to publish an edition of my ( Thoughts 
for a Young Man,' for gratuitous distribution." 

Incidentally a word as to this address by Mr. Mann. 
It had originally been delivered before the Boston Mercan- 
tile Library Association, on its twenty-ninth anniversary. 
It was a searching address, rich in rare thoughts, powerful 
in arrangement, convincing in logic, appealing in its call 
to a nobler life. In a day when the question of the ac- 
cumulation and hoarding of unnatural wealth occupies so 
important a place in the public mind, it is of interest to 
quote Mr. Mann on the subject, more than half a century 



" I wage no war against wealth. I taint it with no vilifying 
breath. Wealth, so far as it consists in comfortable shelter and 
food and raiment for all mankind ; in competence for every 
bodily want and in abundance for every mental and spiritual 
need, is so valuable, so precious, that if any earthly object 
could be worthy of idolatry, this might best be the idol. 
Wealth as the means of refinement and embellishment, of 
education and culture is not only universal in its comprehension 
but elevated in its character; wealth as the means of perfecting 
the arts and sciences, of discovering and diffusing truth is a 
blessing we cannot adequately appreciate. . . . 

"But wealth as the means of an idle or voluptuous life ; 
wealth as the fosterer of pride and the petrifier of the human 
heart ; wealth as the iron rod with which to beat the poor into 
submission, is all the curses of Pandora concentrated into one. 
. . . Great wealth is a misfortune because it makes gener- 
osity impossible. There can be no generosity where there is no 
sacrifice, and a man who is worth a million dollars, though he 
gives half of it away, no more makes a sacrifice than (if I may 



AT BLOOMING GEOVE 119 

make such a supposition) a dropsical man whose skin holds a 
hogshead of water makes a sacrifice when he is tapped for a 
barrel. He is in a healthier condition after the operation than 
before it. ... A fortune is usually the greatest of mis- 
fortunes to children. By taking away the stimulus to effort and, 
especially, by taking away the restraints of indulgence, it takes 
the muscles out of the limbs, the brain out of the head, the virtue 
out of the heart. . . . Vast fortunes are a misfortune to 
the State. They confer irresponsible power ; and human nature, 
except in the rarest instances, has proven incapable of wield- 
ing irresponsible power without abuse. The feudalism of Cap- 
ital is not a whit less formidable than the feudalism of Force. 
The millionaire is as dangerous to the welfare of the community 
in our day as was the baronial lord of the Middle Ages. Both 
supply the means of shelter and raiment on the same condi- 
tions ; both hold their retainers in service by the same tenure, 
— their necessity for bread ; both use their superiority to keep 
themselves superior. The power of money is as imperial as the 
power of the sword ; and I may as well depend upon another for 
my head as for my bread. The day is sure to come when man 
will look back upon the prerogatives of Capital at the present 
time with as severe and as just a condemnation as we now look 
back upon the predatory chieftains of the Dark Ages. 

" But in speaking of the criminality of hoarding vast wealth, 
whether to gratify acquisitiveness or to maintain family pride 
regardless of the suffering it might relieve, the vice it might re- 
deem, the ignorance it might instruct, or the positive happiness 
which in a thousand ways it might create, one grand exception 
should be made : The right or wrong of amassing property 
depends upon the motive that prompts it. . . . On the 
last day it will be revealed whether the man of vast wealth, like 
Stephen Girard, has welcomed toil, endured privation, borne 
contumely while in his secret heart he was nursing the mighty 
purpose of opening a fountain of blessing so copious and ex- 
haustless that it would flow on undiminished to the end of time ; 
or whether, like John Jacob Astor, he was hoarding wealth for 
the base love of wealth, hugging to his breast in his dying hour 
the memory of his gold and not of his Redeemer ; gripping his 
riches till the scythe of death cut off his hands, and he was 
changed, in the twinkling of an eye, from being one of the 
richest men that ever lived in this world, to being one of the 
poorest souls that ever went out of it. . . . 



120 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

" Honour to a merchant is what valour is to a soldier. But 
compared with the merchant who effects insurance upon prop- 
erty already lost, or smuggles goods, or gambles in stocks, the 
beggar that binds a babe and blisters its body into sores in 
order to excite the compassion and extort the charity of the 
benevolent, is an honourable man. ... Is there a young 
man in this city who desires to be enumerated in the moral 
census as a rascal subject of that rascal kingdom of which 
Hudson, ' the railway king,' is the rascal sovereign? " 

The names of a good many prominent men of the day- 
were on Mr. Craig's list of lecturers, —Rev. Henry Ward 
Beecher and Horace Greeley among them. Just before 
he went to the Feltville pastorate Mr. Craig had published 
a pamphlet on "The Unity and Faith of the Christian 
Church." It attracted the attention of Horace Greeley, 
then the vigorous and powerful editor of the New York 
Tribune. Mr. Greeley pronounced it the best production 
he had every seen on the subject and ordered 500 copies, 
concerning the delivery of which the young writer, in 
indicating to the publisher his mailing list, said : 

" The other 500 of the entire work, without covers, to be sent 
to D. Felt's store, New York, directed to Horace Greeley, Cor. 
Spruce and Nassau Sts., N. Y." 

No doubt Mr. Greeley's interest in the young man 
through his vigorous and effective pamphlet was one of the 
chief factors in inducing him to make the journey from the 
city and to appear in the Blooming Grove course. The 
accompanying autograph letter from Mr. Greeley will be 
of interest in this connection : plainly it was written in 
the days when the chirography of the great editor had 
not yet become a matter of national interest. 

In addition to the lecture course a reading circle was 
established in the church. In a letter to his dear friend, 
Rev. H. W. Bellows, of New York, Mr. Craig speaks 
thus: 



AT BLOOMING GKOVE 121 

" I foresee that the snow-storm which now drives upon us 
from the north will prevent the assembling of our people at 
church to-day ; so, having leisure, I will write you, which I have 
several times purposed to do since I last heard from you. I 
know not whether the same cause may prevent you from meet- 
ing your society to-day ; but I know that you are preaching 
now, stormy as it is. You preached in this community yes- 
terday, too, to about a dozen auditors ; and I think it probable 
that you will preach the same sermon before our < Reading- 
Circle ' some of these evenings. 

" You don't know what our ' Reading-Circle ' is, do you ? 
Well, it is a weekly gathering of the young people of our com- 
munity, for the purpose of mental and social improvement. 
The social inclinations of our townspeople are very strong ; and 
heretofore they have found vent chiefly at those old-fashioned 
gatherings called 'parties,' where heels were exercised more 
than heads, and from which the gray morning often witnessed 
the return of their exhausted owners. Such meetings were 
very frequent in this region until the last winter, when they 
received a stunning blow from the series of lectures which at- 
tracted so much attention among us. This season some of our 
young men and ladies formed themselves into a society to meet 
weekly at each other's homes, for reading, conversation and 
music. They have met eight or nine times, and the result is 
cheering. New Year's Eve they assembled at the parsonage, 
in number about one hundred and forty." 

Following this he gives a clear account of the pro- 
gramme presented which embraced readings from strong 
writers, discussion, original essays, humorous poems and 
the like. He mentions the many lecture courses in the 
towns of the region and then adds : 

" What is the meaning of this rage for lectures ? The pulpit 
evidently does not supply all the moral truth that is craved by 
society. The lectures interest me as a means of bringing to- 
gether men of various parties and sects upon a common ground 
of interest and sympathy. They are a kind of secular Church, 
with Catholic grounds of admission. I think that they will 
react upon the pulpit, making its themes more practical and its 
manner more popular, though, I hope, not less adapted to the 



122 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

holy themes of faith. I have seen ministers of different relig- 
ious sects gathered together to hear a lecturer, — sometimes 
clerical, sometimes laic, — discourse to them of principles which 
they would not probably have trusted themselves to hear from 
a pulpit. 

"What a noble enterprise is that of Peter Cooper 1 You 
know him, I presume. I hear that he is a Unitarian, and I 
should think him also a Christian. I am sure of one thing, 
that if a business man desires to learn how to buy the utmost 
possible with his money, he must take lessons of One who, I 
fear, is seldom regarded as a counting-room authority, though 
He has a supreme right to be considered as such. Such men 
as Mr. Cooper, and the late excellent Mr. Lawrence, are 
gleams of sunshine between dark clouds of selfishness that be- 
girt the commercial heavens. I wonder if there is not in New 
York, or elsewhere, some wealthy steward of God who would 
devote of his means to the printing of a cheap select library for 
the poor and for children ? 

"Two causes operate to prevent the common people from 
possessing books ; the first, books are generally too dear ; the 
second, they are not generally accessible. The works of Dr. 
Charming are models of excellence, neatness and cheapness. 
Suppose, now, that one hundred volumes of the same size and 
style should be put at the price of thirty-three and one-third 
cents per volume, or thirty dollars per set, embracing, in fair 
proportion, the very best works on history, science, morals, 
etc., of such as are especially adapted to the improvement of 
common readers. Such works, to name a few without regard 
to order, as Dymond's 'Moral Essays,' Combe's 'Constitution 
of Man,' Butler's 'Analogy,' Dewey's 'Sermons on Human 
Life,' Guyot's 'Earth and Man,' Nichol's 'Architecture of the 
Heavens,' Mitchel's 'Lectures on Astronomy,' Miller's 'Old 
Red Sandstone,' Humboldt's 'Cosmos,' perhaps, — yes! Mil- 
ler's ' Footprints of the Creator.' A few biographies like those 
of Dr. Channing, and those of Mary Lyon and Mary Ware ; a 
few of the best volumes of poetry ; and if you would add a 
few works of fiction of the character of Frederika Bremer's, I 
would not object. I have indicated a few as a sample. To 
issue and colporteur such works through the country would, I 
think, be a noble field of use to society. 

" But chiefly I would delight to see some one take in hand 
the publication of a cheap, neat, good library for children. 



AT BLOOMING GKOVE 123 

* The Tract Society publications,' some one may say. Oh! 
oh ! I never dreamed, until the care of the lambs of a flock 
led me to seek out books to put into the hands of children, how- 
few really good books there are, adapted to children of from 
eight to fourteen years of age. I have several times applied to 
gentlemen whose positions allowed the conclusion that they 
could direct me in my search for suitable books for children, 
and have invariably been disappointed in the result. How 
exceedingly thin the intellectual food served up in most of the 
books for children ! I would not, indeed, forget that ' strong 
meat ' belongeth to men of full age, while milk is for babes. 
Yes, but let it be pure milk ; some of it is abominably watered. 
Mr. Abbott's 'Rollo,' and 'Lucy,' and 'Jonas,' and ' Fran- 
conia ' books are among the best that I have been able to find 
for children. 

" I know that it must be difficult to write books for children ; 
more so than to write for men ; and those who write would do 
well to remember that something more is necessary in books 
for children than that they should be made up of short and 
easy words. How to give the infinite beauty that exists in na- 
ture and in God expression to the capacity of a child's mind 
and heart — that is the problem. 

" Just now an odd thought came into my head : what sort of 
a book do you think that Jesus would have written for those 
little ones whom He called to Him and blessed ? He could 
have done it, I think ; could have written a book that children 
of tender age would have delighted to read — those well nur- 
tured, I mean. And I am not sure but the history of His own 
life, embodied in fireside stories by the lips of kind and wise 
Christian parents, is the best nourishment for infant minds. 

"But we want books, too, for the little ones; and mothers 
must write them. Christian mothers, possessed of well-stored 
and highly cultured minds must fulfill the mission of extracting 
from nature, Providence, science, and life their choicest beau- 
ties, and, adapting them to infant comprehension, in simple but 
noble language, must send them forth to fill the void now ex- 
isting in our literature ; and some munificent soul must embody 
a hundred of them in neat and very cheap volumes, and diffuse 
them thrbugh the community. How nicely it all sounds ! " 

More and more frequent "calls now came to him for 
writing on various subjects and for editorial aid upon 



124: LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

various of the church periodicals. To one editor who 
was about to establish a magazine he wrote, after speak- 
ing of a promised contribution in the form of an essay : 

11 1 observe that your projected magazine is quite freely 
criticised in the Palladium as an unwarranted and uncalled for 
project. If I might assume to express an opinion I would rec- 
ommend that you pay no attention in your enterprise to any 
denomination. Do not claim for the magazine that it is 
the representative of * Christians,' 'Unitarians,' 'Protestants,' 
1 Liberalists,' or any class, but only an organ through which 
earnest individuals may utter their convictions and commend 
the faith of Jesus. . . . Let the brethren who have freely 
criticised the new magazine in the Palladium, — let them alone. 
It is hardly worth while to suppose that every word that is 
uttered is of sufficient account to be repeated and refuted. 
Five hundred years hence the echo of these loud-spoken words 
will be lost in the general din of other small sayings and the 
universe will be moving on in grandeur and glory under the 
guidance of the Redeemer." 

Along more than one line, as the pastorate progressed, 
this leader of his people was guiding still other men and 
women than those under his immediate charge ; and so 
it was to be through all the years, his field ever steadily 
widening, ever bringing larger and larger numbers under 
the rare influence of his life. 



VIII 

PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 

THE leisure which came when once he felt him- 
self settled in his new pastorate found expres- 
sion in deeper sermons, in more extensive study 
in many directions, in a stronger mental output through 
the press. The quiet of the place, the absence of distract- 
ing turmoil, the close companionship of the best books 
and periodicals, the sympathy of the earnest folk among 
whom he laboured, the intimate touch with nature of 
which he was so passionately fond, all combined to lead 
him outward. Nor did the leisure bring the indifference 
and apathy a weaker man would have shown j — to him it 
was an open door to larger things. 

Without in any sense disparaging the men with whom 
he came in contact in the days when he preached in so 
many different pulpits, — men who were possessed of noble 
and rugged characters and who preached with all their 
devoted hearts a Gospel as full and broad as their limited 
opportunities permitted, — it was yet true that, as the 
work at Blooming Grove advanced, he came more and 
more in touch with men who not only appealed to him 
by the clarity of their views and the breadth of their out- 
look, but who exerted a strong influence upon him and 
made deeper and more satisfying the joy of service. 

The letters he writes now show more and more disin- 
clination to discuss technical theology, more dependence 
upon the essentials. Frequent letters came from some of 
the older preachers in the Christian denomination who 

125 



126 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

feared he was slipping away from their denominational 
bounds. "While he was as undenominational in the better 
sense as a man well could be, he still held his relations 
with the Christian Connexion; with them holding the 
Bible far above all creeds. Answering a letter from one 
of his own faith he says : 

" I do not occupy much of my time in preaching about bap- 
tism ; nor do I wish to write about it. God sent me not to 
baptize, but to preach the Gospel. I tell people to study the 
Scriptures prayerfully, and when they become convinced that 
it is their duty to be immersed in the name of Jesus, to submit 
readily and heartily. For my own part, I wish to leave the 
word of the beginning of Christ and go on unto perfection, not 
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, 
and of faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptism and of 
laying on of hands, etc. , etc. I think Christian peoples have been 
throwing water at each other on the shores of Jordan quite long 
enough. Let us now go up, and possess the spiritual Canaan. 
There are things more important, certainly, than the mode of 
baptism." 

And to another on the same topic : 

" I do not feel as much interest in the baptismal question as 
many of our brethren appear to possess. There are matters of 
more consequence ; and I would rather devote my time to 
them. I do not think baptism of no consequence ; but of less 
consequence than many other matters that I could mention." 

While he was anxious that there should be no ill feel- 
ing towards him on the part of those of his own faith he 
was yet constrained to speak plainly whenever an issue 
was raised. Writing to a friend in regard to his confer- 
ence address which was now being published in pamphlet 
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THE BLOOMING GROVE PARSONAGE 

"Above the church and considerably higher stood the 
parsonage. My pen could easily linger long in the de- 
scription of the beautiful and ever sublime scenery in 
clear view from the windows of the white house which 
stood so high above the surrounding country that more 
than one of the old deacons on his farm far off could see 
the light in his pastor's study." 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 127 

hope that nothing untrue, injudicious, or unkind may be found 
in its pages. I feel a little anxiety about its reception by our 
brethren ; and yet I cannot think that many of them will dis- 
sent from the position I have taken. Sectarianism has obtained 
some foothold among us ; but I trust that it has not yet leavened 
our entire body. Sectarianism does not consist in names and 
forms, but in spirit, and the spirit of sectarianism may as easily 
exist, I think, under the name Christian, and with professions 
of love and freedom, as anywhere and anyhow else. When a 
man ceases to be supremely concerned for the interests of truth 
and righteousness, and feels more anxiety for the prosperity 
and triumph of a certain organized body with which he stands 
connected, he becomes, I apprehend, a sectarian. 

" We advocate principles, we have said. Very well. These 
principles are not our peculiar possession. They belong by 
right to every member of the Church of Christ; and I am 
happy to know that these principles find many earnest receivers 
and able advocates outside our Connexion. I number among 
my personal friends, such, of several denominations. For in- 
stance, one a member of the German Reformed Church ; an- 
other a Swedenborgian ; a third a Unitarian. Now, I know 
these men to be in mind and spirit imbued with the pure and 
free principles of Christ — free from sectarianism as myself, cer- 
tainly. It makes no difference to my feelings that these men 
are not members of the Christian Connexion. I have told 
them that I prefer they should remain where they are. They 
have now large spheres of influence ; — larger than they could 
expect to have by leaving their present connexions, and seek- 
ing new ones. Let them remain and leaven those with whom 
their present connexion brings them into sympathy. 

"Do I prove false to our principles by loving and cooperat- 
ing with such men ? I think not. Well, then, do I prove 
false to my denomination by so doing ? But I am not the 
property of any denomination. I wish to belong to the Lord, 
and to all who are His. In so far as regard to my denomina- 
tion is identical or compatible with regard to my principles, I 
wish to love that denomination ; but no farther. If my de- 
nomination shall seem to draw me in one direction, and my 
principles in another, I shall be a false-hearted, cowardly man, 
if I do not resolutely remain allegiant to the principles. But, 
I would not lightly sunder myself from any body with which 
circumstances had connected me ; and I should esteem it a de- 



128 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

plorable alternative to be severed from the body with which I 
have held connection, or to become false to my conscientious 
convictions. Such alternative, I trust, will never be presented 
to any of us. 

" You say that some of the old scholars are becoming greatly 
alarmed about ' the boys ' going over to « Discipleism.' — You 
name as such Hyatt, Havens, Miller, yourself, and myself. I 
answer for myself, that I am not conscious of having gone over 
to ' Discipleism,' in any other sense (if in any) than that by 
independent study I may have arrived at the same conclusions 
to which the < Disciples ' have come on some points. I give 
myself no trouble to ask what the Disciples believe, any more 
than I trouble myself to learn what our ' Old Scholars ' believe. 
As regards the formation of my own opinions, it is perfectly in- 
different to me what either of them believe. We ought to oc- 
cupy a manly, independent position. We are accountable to 
God, each for himself; and should endeavour by faithful, 
earnest examination of His Word, to mould our faith. 

" We should use the light that God gives to us individually. 
He does not deserve the name of a true man, who studies the 
Scriptures in order to agree or to disagree with any man or as- 
sociation of men. If by faithful study you have arrived at the 
same conclusions as Alexander Campbell, do not be ashamed 
of them because he advocates them. Do not let the pity or the 
opposition of any misguided persons swerve you from your 
honest convictions. It were a pitiable weakness to be driven 
by laughs or frowns from one's allegiance to one's own sense 
of truth or duty. 

" If, on the other hand, an honest examination of the Scrip- 
tures causes you to agree in sentiment with < our Old Scholars, 
do not be driven from your faith by the efforts of any who may 
taunt you as being behind the age, or the like. Be more 
anxious to be true to duty and to God, than to agree in senti- 
ment with anybody, and to gain the favour or escape the 
frowns of men. Try to learn God's truth, and to do the duty 
which He has imposed upon you ; and then you will be a true 
man, a faithful follower of Christ ; and being such, no matter 
what may be thought or said of you by those who do not un- 
derstand you, you will neither be a heretic and dangerous man 
on the one hand, nor behind the age on the other. Ever ask : 
< Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ? ' 

" Do you study much? — and what? Qualify yourself as 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 129 

much as you can for usefulness in your sphere : — as preacher, 
to present the doctrines of the Bible clearly and with power; 
and as pastor, to gain the sympathies and esteem of the people. 
"With earnest desires that you may be useful and happy, I 
subscribe myself affectionately, 

" Your Christian Brother, 

"Austin Craig." 

One correspondent asks him pointedly after the condi- 
tion of his own mental " leadings." In response he says : 



"In regard to the leadings of my mind, I hardly know how 
to answer you. I am hopeful as regards the future of our race, 
and am constantly losing my interest in party and denomina- 
tion. I cannot willingly avow myself a Christian in any other 
sense than the all-comprehensive one. I wish to enjoy the 
fellowship of the really enlarged and pure souls wherever I may 
find them. I am as ready to meet such outside the ' Chris- 
tian ' denomination, as in it. I am happy to number among 
those whose fellowship enlarges my mind and cheers my heart, 
some in various denominations — orthodox and heretical. Why 
should I be denominational? Why should I think that we 
have the greatest men and the best principles of the age ? 
Those who confine their reading and intercourse within the 
limits of the Christian denomination, may suppose that 'we 
are the people,' but an enlargement of acquaintance and en- 
quiries will dispel the illusion. 

" The Christian denomination is one fruit of a spirit now 
almost immanent in Humanity. God is working out human 
freedom and happiness by a thousand agencies unperceived 
around us. The commerce of the enlightened nations is doing 
more to reclaim the heathen from heathenism, than the mis- 
sionary operations of the world. Literature, especially the 
higher works and magazines, is generally catholic in its spirit 
and its influence in moulding the mind of the future is incal- 
culable. Providential agencies are continually opening to us. 
Who knows what Kossuth's visit to England and America may 
accomplish for our race ? For my part, I hope great things 
from it, on behalf of Human Liberty and Brotherhood. 

"My reading is now chiefly in the current literature, espe- 
cially the periodical publications of our day. I receive the 



130 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

four papers of the 'Christians,' one of the Unitarians; two of 
the Congregationalists; — besides a quarterly of theirs, the New 
Englander ; one of the Roman Catholics, the Freeman' s Jour- 
nal ; one of the New Church (Sweden borgian) ; one of the 
Disciples; the Tribune; Dickens' Household Words (an Eng- 
lish Weekly) ; Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts ; to which 
I purpose to add, when next I go to New York, the four lead- 
ing British and Scotch Quarterly Reviews. 1 A friendly corre- 
spondent has engaged to keep me posted up on the contents of 
the home Orthodox quarterly publications. I am persuaded 
that whoever has access to one side of a matter only, will cul- 
tivate a lopsidedness of mind — will, indeed, lose his mental 
freedom insensibly. I wish to keep my mind free from being 
unduly influenced by any class of partisans; and, therefore, 
open my ears to the stories of all. I would rather resemble a 
tree that grows in an open space, throwing out limbs towards 
every quarter, than to be like those which grow upon the 
wood's edge — developed outwardly in only one direction." 

To his friend Robert J. Wright, of Philadelphia, he 
wrote along a different line : 

" My brightest view of life is that in which I regard myself 
devoted to Christian usefulness, and possessing the sympathies 
of a circle of God-fearing and man-loving brethren : — in this 
circle, you have always seemed nearest and dearest to me. 
And I have watched with interest the progress of your mind in 
the discovery of those great and holy truths which have given 
new ties to our souls, and, I hope, brought us into closer alli- 
ance with Christ. I have wished and hoped, that in the good 
providence of God, we might hereafter be called to labour 
together in the gospel field, with the pen, or in the pulpit, 
and then to enjoy the happiness of being < workers together 

l A year later his list of periodicals included the following addi- 
tional publications : 

London Quarterly Review, Edinburgh Review, North British Review, 
Westminster Review, Blackwood 1 s Magazine, American Polytechnic Jour- 
nal, Scientific American, Whig Press, Phrenological Journal, Wilson' s 
Book Trade, Literary Gazette, Mirror of Temperance, The Age, Sunday- 
School Advocate^ The Circular. 



PKOGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 131 

with God ' in the accomplishment of His benevolent designs 
towards our race. 

" My clearest conceptions of heaven are those which regard 
it as an ever-enlarging condition of exalted activity and useful- 
ness, forever binding the pure souls more firmly to their Great 
Father, and forever producing and perpetuating the holiest ties 
of friendship and kindred among themselves. I joy to think 
that Christian friendships shall survive the shock of death; that 
love to Christ kindles the fires of eternal life in the breast of its 
possessor ; and that heaven is the union, and the endless puri- 
fication and enlargement of all great and holy souls. 

"Well, if fates and infirmities suffer us not to labour together 
for Christ, and with Christ, on earth, they shall not prevent us 
from uniting our hearts and labours in heaven. A few years 
hence, and 'bad health and broken spirits/ and all our doubts 
and despondings, shall have passed away, and the Father shall 
have called His exiled children home. There are warm hearts 
yearning towards us in the Christian's home. 'Like as a 
father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear 
Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we 
are dust.' Our ' elder brother,' too, is regarding us with affec- 
tion; commiserating our sufferings; and sympathizing with 
us : ' for we have not an High Priest who cannot be touched 
with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted 
like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly 
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find 
grace to help in time of need.' " 

"lam afraid I shall be of little service to you," he writes in 
a letter which serves to indicate the many-sided character of 
his voluminous correspondence, "in relation to the Word or 
Logos of Saint John's Proem. — Shall I confess it ? I have no 
opinion about it, don't know how to get one. I stick fast in 
Agnosticism, and am fain to relieve myself by sitting at the 
feet of Swedenborg, whose exposition is definite enough, but, 
apparently, a shade too metaphysical. Such questions formerly 
interested me more than at present : I am now less disposed to 
preach of curious speculations, or uncertain passages of Scrip- 
ture, and more inclined to call men to repentance." 

In the midst of all the labour that came to his hand 
even in this beautiful, quiet country place, he never lost 
sight of an opportunity to render service to others. Now 



132 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

it was some secular matter connected with the parish ; 
now it was a carefully written and beautifully composed 
letter prepared with his own hand for some old man or 
woman, too old, or too illiterate, to be able to write for 
themselves, conveying messages of love and humble items 
of news to friends or relatives ; now it was some outside 
service which would naturally fall to the hands of some 
one not so burdened with cares. His deep thoughtful- 
ness of others and his desire to help them come out in a 
letter to his long-time friend, the Rev. J. G. Lawshe, 
then of Quakertown, New Jersey, to whom he wrote 
from Blooming Grove in October, 1852 : 



" I feel at present that I should be willing, — in case I should 
survive you, and possess strength to labour, — to undertake the 
revision and preparation of such manuscripts as you may leave 
for the press. Their being written in the phonetic character 
would not seriously embarrass me ; I could soon master that, so 
far as to decipher your writings. 

"I am glad that you have felt free to respond so, in this 
matter. Fearing that you might pass from us, in consequence 
of your present illness, I felt an earnest desire that your manu- 
scripts might be so left that a volume of selections should see 
the light. They would be useful to our ' Christian ' brethren, 
and would also, I believe, interest and benefit the young peo- 
ple into whose hands they might fall." 



The reputation of the pastor of the Blooming Grove 
church was not confined to his own immediate vicinity, 
or denomination, as shown by many varying letters of 
which the following is a type : 

" To Rev. Austin Craig : 

" The undersigned members of the Legislature of New 
Jersey, and citizens of this State, having learned that you had 
prepared a lecture upon ' The Mission of the United States and 
the Responsibilities Imposed upon the People, ' respectfully re- 



PKOGRESS AT BLOOMING GBOVE 133 

quest that you will consent to deliver the same in one of the 
public halls in this city on Thursday evening of the present 
week." 

Trenton, February 17, 1852. 

Thomas Miles, John Manners, 

Benj. C. Tatem, W. C. Alexander, 

John D. Jackson, J. A. Blucher, 

John Hughes, Arthur Gifford, 

John B. Clark, E. C. Rogers, 

J. W. Hancol. Thos. A. Allison, 

James Applegate, " John C. Beardsley, 

Joseph O. Johnson, Joseph us Shann, 

D. Graves, E. J. Dougherty, 

J. A. Boyle. 

It was in public addresses such as the above that he 
came into touch with men who were not so deeply inter- 
ested in religious or moral endeavour as those among 
whom he worked from day to day, and every such address 
not only gave him a more intimate relation with the out- 
side world and kept him from becoming one-sided, but 
had a marked influence upon such of the people as did not 
hear him in his pulpit. 

In addition to the many demands made upon him, — an 
extensive correspondence, calls for preaching in other 
pulpits on notable occasions, writing steadily for the 
religious newspapers of the day, the thoughtful and 
earnest carrying out of his own pastoral duties, the con- 
stant study of contemporary ecclesiastical movements, 
with the searching out of obscure passages of the Greek 
and Hebrew Scriptures of the Bible, — in addition to all 
these serious demands he was constantly harassed by 
poor health. A frail boy when at college, he did not 
develop the physical strength he should have had in later 
years, but while never an invalid, and capable of per- 
forming prodigious amounts of mental work, he was yet 



134: LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

kept constantly on his guard. In a quaint letter to 
Horace Mann written from his study in the Blooming 
Grove parsonage on May 7, 1854, he says : 

" I pen you this line merely to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter, and of the accompanying * Inaugural ' ; to express 
my hearty thanks therefor ; and to say that some time by and 
by, I mean to write you a huge letter. I am very much en- 
gaged now-abouts — arboriculturally and horticulturally ; — partly 
to gratify my taste, but chiefly to recover somewhat in my 
outer-man of the lost Eden. I am treating dyspepsia minerally 
and botanically — mixed practice. I take the former by 
shovelfuls and wheelbarrow-loads — (stones, clay and chip- 
muck) ; the latter, I take by the armful. I took last week 9 
peach trees, 7 apple trees, 6 pear trees, 1 apricot tree, 1 chest- 
nut, etc., carrying them from the nursery (3 to 4 miles distant 
hence) on my shoulder. I like this botanic (or rather den- 
dronic) treatment of Dyspepsia. 

1 i Besides, as soon as I get my grounds ready, I mean to take 
between 50 and 60 kinds of flowers. I hope the virtues of 
them will strike-in. I think hoe-handles good conductors of 
medicinal virtues from flower-plants into weak nerves. 

" Your Inaugural (permit a friend to say it) is magnificent. 
Those Titanic periods, — huge, gorgeous, harmonious, refreshed 
me. I had been 9 hours working hard, the day your 
Inaugural came to hand (working with my shovel and wheel- 
barrow). At sunset I walked to the Post Office and back (4 to 
5 miles) home by 9 o'clock. Then I devoured the Inaugural. 
Midnight, I think, found me yet wakeful. I should have been 
sleepy-headed hours before, I suppose, but for the ' Inaugural.' 
It fairly treads the truth into the Reader. I fancied a com- 
parison of the Style of it. At least, it reminded me of what I 
had read and imagined of an oriental caravan of white elephants, 
with housings of glittering gems and gold, with musical har- 
monies, and sacred banners flying, nearing the Holy City with 
worshippers and offerings. 

" I cannot attend the Louisville meeting ; but next October 
(if God spare me) I mean to attend the Christian General Con- 
vention in Cincinnati, and on the way, or returning, hope to 
visit you — and ' preach in your chapel ' too, perhaps. If you 
come this way this season, pray, visit me, spend a Sunday here, 
and preach to your friends in Blooming Grove." 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 135 

One phase of the preacher's life of that day — and bear 
in mind this was no ordinary preacher but one who, to- 
day, would be sought far and wide, — is well illustrated in 
an extract from a letter written by Mr. Craig to Mr. Mann 
in 1854 from Blooming Grove. 

" My congregation number about 1 10-120 families, scattered 
over a district some six or seven miles in length and breadth, 
and they wish the minister to visit them frequently, and to visit 
them when he comes. And, my dear Sir, I tell you that a visit 
in the Blooming Grove sense is oftentimes a formidable affair. 
Unless you eat with them it is only a 'call.' And like most 
other communities, as I suppose, they think nothing too good 
for the minister, and really injure him with the excess and un- 
wholesome richness of their preparation. I have ' blown-out ' 
at them in private and in the pulpit, often, for their table- 
snaring ; and I suppose they think it some queerness of the 
minister and so pass it by." 

The following excerpts are from letters of this period to 
Mr. Mann : 

" My Dear Friend : 

"I sit down amid the autumn-like quiet of this Sabbath 
evening, to answer your kind note of the 24th instant. I have 
just returned from a solemn and touching service, — the baptism 
of five young ladies of our community. Three of them were 
teachers ; and one of these frequently speaks of ' Antioch ' and 
cherishes some hope, I think, of seeking instruction at your in- 
stitution. One of these said to me in her application for bap- 
tism, that she was conscious of having failed to exert the 
decided Christian influence in her school and in the community, 
which she wished ; owing, as she believed, to her not having 
publicly consecrated herself to Christ. — When the sun was near 
the setting we gathered together upon the banks of a stream, 
and having sung Old Hundred and offered prayer, one after 
another the confessors were led down into the water and 
' buried with Christ by baptism.' — The stillness of the house of 
death was upon the witnessing crowds. 

"What a dreamlike, changeful life it all is ! Everything 



136 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

seems at times emulous of Chaos. St. Augustine, amid the 
wreck of the old Roman civilization, turned his eye steadily to 
the ' City of God ' : Happy the thought that Sects, and 
nations and empires and Democracies may rush to ruin ; but 
the Church of Christ, built on the rock of ages, shall survive 
and triumph. 

" I suggest as a quieter of these feverish times, the reading 
of the Bible and of Church History." 



In the following fanciful letter lie took occasion by per- 
sonification to show how Mr. Mann might well extend 
his writing : 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y., August 2, iSjj. 
" Hon. Horace Mann. 

"My Dear Sir: 

" It affords me pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness 
to you for a copy of another of your valuable publications — 
f The Powers and Duties of Woman ' — which reached me 
yesterday by Mail. As you have allowed your friends to per- 
suade you < to send forth a Sister to keep that Brother com- 
pany,' I wish you would permit me to tell you that to my cer- 
tain (?) knowledge there are three in the family ; besides the 
adult brother and sister, there is the Young Master, who hav- 
ing just signalized his entrance upon his second decade, by 
donning his first frock-coat, is trying (rather awkwardly, to be 
sure) to enact the Man, and naturally enough feels slighted 
that such nice books have been written to his older brother and 
sister, and no notice taken of him, while he, when he has his 
new black-hat on, is almost as big as they. 

" Our Young Master, I think, would give almost anything 
(except his new frock-coat, aforesaid) to have ' the Congress- 
man ' notice him in the handsome manner that he noticed his 
brother and sister. — Between us, I must tell you that Young 
Master has somehow gotten the notion that the highest earthly 
happiness of a man, next to being the President, is to go to 
Congress. I wish you could have seen him last fire-cracker- 
day as he was letting off his first Fourth-of-July oration to a 
parcel of his playmates. He had a three-cornered newspaper- 
hat on his head, and pieces of yellow-cloth pinned on his 
shoulders ; and he talked away quite surprisingly about ' lick- 



PROGKESS AT BLOOMING GKOVE 137 

ing the British and the Mexicans,' and about this being 'the 
greatest country that ever was ' ; and, O ! how the little fel- 
lows hurrah-ed at that. I wanted to tell them all how George 
Washington, when he was only a lad, felt his ambition excited 
— not to become a Congress-man or a General, but a noble, 
good man ; and how he drew up a number of rules and gov- 
erned himself by them, until he became the noble man that he 
was. But they were not just then inclined to hear that, and 
perhaps they wouldn't think much of it, if I should tell them 
now : but if the ' Congress-man ' would say something to 
them, I feel sure that a great many of them would listen to it. 

" Young Master is very General- Jackson-ish ; loves to have 
his own way, and doesn't sufficiently regard his mother ; though 
he seems a good boy at heart, and sometimes shows himself 
possessed of generous and noble traits. I wish, Mr. Mann, 
you would say something to him to induce him to leave off his 
careless and rowdyish airs, and to cultivate those gentle and 
beautiful traits which he sometimes displays. I am afraid that 
he has been influenced by some bad boys at school. You 
have had so much acquaintance with the schools, that you 
know all the evil influences to which the young masters are ex- 
posed there, and why not tell them ? Tell all. Tell them 
how Health is ruined by Carelessness at school — and how 
vice is learned. Tell them what books to read; and many 
other things which they need to know, and will listen to from 
you. — And I wish you would tell the ministers that they ought 
to preach more to the young masters, and try to interest them. 

"But now, Mr. Mann, I intended to have written only three 
or four lines in this half- frivolous manner, and I have, instead, 
quite filled my sheet with what I feel to be scarce worthy a place 
in a letter to any dignified and well-deserving person. I beg 
you excuse me this folly. Were there less of it, I might plead 
in my justification that line of Horace, < Misce stultitiam con- 
siliis brevem. } As the matter stands, however, I throw myself 
upon your leniency, and subscribe myself, 

"Respectfully and truly, yours, 

"Austin Craig." 



The years passed and the calls to still wider service 
were heard. In succeeding chapters the relations of Mr. 
Craig to Antioch College both as teacher and president 



138 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

will be taken up. It is sufficient chronologically here to 
say that at the end of six years of service at Blooming 
Grove, six years of as devoted service as ever man gave 
to men and which knitted him into the very hearts of his 
people, the church gave him leave of absence for the 
closing months of the year 1855 to go to Antioch College 
at Yellow Springs, Ohio, which had come under the 
presidency of his friend, Horace Mann, to teach tempo- 
rarily the classes of the professor of Greek then away 
from his post on leave of absence. A second leave of ab- 
sence was given the pastor a year later when he went 
South, preaching for a few months in the city of New 
Orleans. 

In September, 1857, he resigned his pastorate at Bloom- 
ing Grove and went again to Antioch as preacher to the 
college and professor of logic and rhetoric. 

Just a year later the church at Blooming Grove, una- 
ble to get along as they knew they ought to get along 
without their pastor, sent another call to him to come and 
once more minister to them, in the following words : 

"Blooming Grove, April 12, 1858. 
" Dear Brother Austin : 

" In obedience to the wishes of the congregation, in pub- 
lic assembly expressed, I am once more found in the responsible 
position of spokesman, or, if you please, committee. 

" The honourable — the Trustees of the Blooming Grove Con- 
gregation gave notice last Sunday for a meeting in which the 
purpose of giving you a re-call was to be considered. 

"The meeting was held to-day, at 3 o'clock p. m., and after 
the usual preliminaries and deliberations, it was decided that 
an unanimous call be forwarded to our former pastor to come 
and resume his labours among us ; 2d, that hereafter, whoso- 
ever should be our pastor, he should receive an addition to his 
salary of two hundred dollars per annum, above the amount 
heretofore paid by us. 

" And that H. F. Moffat, Daniel Goldsmith and Alden Gold- 
smith be the committee who should communicate the result of 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 139 

these proceedings to Mr. Craig and request a reply at his earli- 
est convenience. 

" May the Master of Assemblies guide you by His wisdom to 
such decision as shall be for the glory of His name. 
"Yours in Christian bonds, 

"H. F. Moffat, 

" Daniel Goldsmith, 

" Alden Goldsmith." 

The call was accepted and the interrupted relations 
with the Blooming Grove church were once more resumed 
to be continued without break for the next seven years. 

Writing to a friend, Dr. Craig expressed his apprecia- 
tion of the people among whom he laboured, as he did on 
many other occasions : 

" I have your kind letter of the 9th instant," he says, "and 
have read in a column of last week's Gospel Herald the kind 
things you say of me in your Blooming Grove letter. Let me 
confess to you that I find a little drawback from completeness 
of satisfaction with your letter and article, in the feeling that 
you are evidently thinking of and describing a wiser, better, 
more faithful man, than I know myself to be. What you say 
of Blooming Grove, however, and of the Blooming Grove peo- 
ple, would stand the test. A noble people, indeed ! 

" That good Deacon Howell was a true yoke-fellow. Rain 
or shine, he came to church — to the Sunday-school — to our lit- 
tle prayer-meeting, and always so full of faith and love ! His 
prayers and testimonies did help and strengthen me many 
times. He is ' a hereditary Christian. ' His father was dea- 
con of the church for fifty-two years." 

In 1856 a very urgent call had been sent to Mr. Craig 
to become the pastor of the Christian Church at Yellow 
Springs, the seat of Antioch College, matters in the 
church being in a much disturbed condition. It was be- 
lieved that he was the man of all others to put the church 
upon its feet and to harmonize the discordant elements. 
He called a meeting of the Blooming Grove church, set 



140 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

the whole matter before them, proposed that he go to the 
Yellow Springs church for ten months, if it was the will 
of his own flock, but they voted as their decision "a 
unanimous and emphatic negative." 

And now a new factor, if so sweet and dear an element 
may be given so prosaic a term, had entered into his life. 
Indeed it may be said to have been a part of his life, for 
a long time, a very fair and beautiful part. The tall 
young minister had seldom surrendered, but now to a 
fair young enemy he made complete capitulation and Miss 
Mary Adelaide Churchill became his wife. It was a pe- 
culiarly happy union, for the wife brought to the husband 
the influences which served to broaden and strengthen 
his life, to fit him still more fully for the part he was to 
play. She was a young woman of rare intellectual life, 
with a fine strong mind united to the most delicate femi- 
nine nature. She was of that rare type of woman who 
embodied all that was noblest and best in the intellectual 
side as well as all those fine and womanly traits which 
make the ideal home. 

The following characteristic letter, or excerpt from a 
letter, gives a glimpse into the new life which came to 
the young minister : 

"Blooming Grove, N. F., Sept. 23, 1858. 
" To Mr. and Mrs. Mann. 
"Dear Friends: 

"It is little, as news, that I have to write you : for our 
outward conditions are as yet unsettled. We — Adelaide and 
myself, — were counting upon a quiet sort of time here until 
next spring, as members of the family of that Mr. Moffat 
who was at your house some months ago on his journey 
westward. He returned home, two or three weeks since, to 
make preparations for the immediate removal of his family to 
Rockford, Illinois. Our plans, therefore, are all to be recast ; 
and the arrangements for our own household and housekeep- 
ing, which we anticipated making at our leisure during the 




ADELAIDE CHURCHILL CRAIG 
WIFE OF AUSTIN CRAIG 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 141 

winter, we must proceed to make at once. Meanwhile we are 
encamped in the parsonage, with characteristics of housekeep- 
ing more nearly allied to the nomadic, than to the settled, life. 
"I am assuming — you perceive — that you know the fact of 
our marriage. Except to a few of our immediate kindred, no 
notice of our marriage has been given to any one, except its 
publication in the New York City newspapers. — In case, 
however, that you do not know the fact, or know it insuf- 
ficiently (as a certain student is said to have given as an excuse 
for non-attendance at chapel, that he did not hear the bell dis- 
tinctly,) — therefore, be it hereby known unto you that we, 
Austin Craig and Adelaide Churchill, were united in marriage, 
according to the laws of the State of New York, at Schuylers 
Lake, August 12th, 1858. — N. B. The initials on the spoons 
are A. C. The more exact formula might have been A* C V 

Miss Churchill was born in Richfield, Otsego County, 
New York, December 15, 1828. She attended school as 
a child near her home ; afterwards was a student in the 
Female Seminary in Utica, New York, and, still later, in 
the Clinton Liberal Institute at Clinton, New York. 
Here she was graduated and became a teacher for several 
terms in the institute. She entered Antioch College for 
a broader training, and there met Austin Craig during 
the time he was professor of rhetoric and logic. She 
was graduated from Antioch, in 1858, in June, and the 
marriage took place in August following. She was grad- 
uated with the degree of Bachelor of Aj?ts, in the second 
class to go out from that institution. Later the degree of 
Master of Arts was conferred upon her by Antioch, mak- 
ing her one of the first women in the United States to be 
honoured with this degree. 

During the year 1858, when the cares of the pulpit had 
been exchanged for the cares of a college chair, Mr. 
Craig kept a diary or as he called it "a journal," in 
which he jotted down in his remarkably clear penman- 
ship the events of each day of that year passed at Antioch. 
Every essential detail of a life of great activity is included 



142 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

in this diary and all placed in the most compact and con- 
densed form. Frequently through the diary are notes of 
ill health. The labour in the college was very exacting 
and there were so very many demands upon him for 
public addresses that his strength was tried to the utmost. 
He found relief in long walks in the country, and very 
many notations which show that he walked l i to the 
Glen" with u A. C." and others, or spent the evening in 
the Ladies' Hall in company with " A. C." abound in 
the journal. Once he speaks briefly of being with Miss 
Churchill in the parlour considering " Logic, etc." 

The following from one who was a student under Miss 
Churchill while the latter was an instructor in the Clinton 
Liberal Institute at Clinton, New York, may be taken as 
an illustration of the universal esteem in which she was 
held by those who came under her painstaking and 
thoughtful care : 

"During my school days at Clinton Liberal Institute, I was 
most fortunate in having for my instructor in literature, Miss 
Adelaide Churchill. I say fortunate — for she was such an en- 
thusiast herself regarding the best in books, she inspired those 
under her charge with an earnest desire to read and possess the 
wealth of knowledge in them. 

" To this day I feel the influence of this gifted woman about 
me, and when I find myself wasting time on a poor book, I re- 
member her once saying to me : ' Do not encumber your 
mind with trash, — how much better to possess one sentence 
from an immortal author.' 

" Personally she was very sweet and gentle, and treated us 
with consideration. If occasion arose for reprimand — a rosy 
flush suffused her face, showing how difficult for her to repress 
our girlish exuberance. 

u Most assuredly I owe her beloved memory most grateful 
appreciation and recognition." 

As a girl she had shown a distinct talent for writing. 
In her letters written home from school this constantly 



PKOGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 143 

appears in a fine discrimination in the choice of words, 
in clearness of thought and in vivacity of expression. 
Quaint bits come out in the letters recounting the daily 
events of her seminary life, as this : 

" Ah, the little rogue of a kitten ! He is walking over my 
shoulders and head and cutting up all sorts of kittenish pranks. 
It is not my kitten, only a borrowed one ; it is Mrs. Rockwell's 
pet. I saw it running about in the hall just now and so took 
it for a few moments ; but as the little plague is too trouble- 
some with his unmannerly pranks— he has no respect for any- 
thing — I shall have to take him home. Apropos of cats, how 
is my Jim coming on ? You must remember he is getting old 
and has lost his teeth, and so be a little indulgent towards his 
peculiarities." 

She possessed aptness in the telling of stories and Dr. 
Craig' s earnest desire was that she might write stories 
for children, for which she had a particular facility ; but 
the care of her six little ones left her scant time for liter- 
ary work. When Dr. Craig expressed regret, she would 
say, " When the children are older, I will write." But 
before the leisure time came she was called away. Her 
father was a man of strong intellectuality and very fond 
of a high type of literature — chief among the books most 
read in his library were Shakespeare and Scott. Mrs. 
Craig had, too, a sprightly wit, possibly because of the 
fact that on her mother's side she sprang from the same 
Clements stock from which came Mark Twain. 

She became acquainted with Norman J. Coleman, the 
first Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, when 
he was publishing a stirring agricultural monthly in St. 
Louis, having a large circulation and with contributions 
which were kept up to the highest possible standard. 
Miss Churchill was invited by him to contribute. She 
was loath to try it, but on his insistence she did so, and 



144 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

frequent complimentary letters were received by her from 
him. A portion of one of them is as follows : 

" Your excellent article for the Valley Farmer has just been 
put in type and looks well. I have read the proof with great 
pleasure. Two or three others have read the article and say 
that you have a strong, clear-cut way of expressing your views 
which they admire. I came near writing to you to ask permis- 
sion to use it as an editorial. 

" I hope you will write more. In no other way can you ac- 
complish so much good. I shall always be glad to get articles 
from you — and I know they will do my journal much good. 
Your style is most excellent — not that of the general run of 
female writers — but more manly, if you will allow me that ex- 
pression, conveying truths so that they reach the heart of every 
reader. The soft sickly sentimentalism so common nowadays 
I don't like, and you have none of it." 

Paragraphs from other letters from Mr. Coleman to 
Miss Churchill are of interest. Under date of December 
20, 1856, he writes : 

" I have a good deal to say on the subject of education dur- 
ing my travels, but take the ground that physical as well as 
moral education is too much neglected in our present system. 
A great many tell me that if I will start such a school as I 
advocate, they will patronize it forthwith. I have no idea that 
I shall ever start one. If I should, I should purchase a large 
farm contiguous to a railroad twenty or thirty miles from St. 
Louis. I would teach practical agriculture to the scholars 
daily, having the various departments of the farm under com- 
petent professors as well as a thoroughly scientific department. 
The products of the farm being accessible to a good market 
would always sell high and pay. And every branch of farm- 
ing would be taught in the most approved manner. A ladies' 
seminary with a flower and fruit garden might also be located 
on the same farm. The ladies should also be taught landscape 
gardening, the proper laying out and arrangement of the 
grounds, the grouping in proper manner of the trees, plants, 
shrubs, etc., and should have ample room for daily physical ex- 
ercise ; and the laws of health should be imparted to them, 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 145 

which they should be required to observe. I could get the land 
easily enough, but it would cost a great deal to erect buildings, 
hire professors, teachers, etc., and the only way it could be 
done, would be by scholarships, which you say proved a failure 
at Yellow Springs. 

" I would not have anything to do with such a school unless 
I had the complete control of it. Give me freely and candidly 
your views of such a school, of its probable success and any 
suggestions that you could make in regard to either department 
(I mean male or female). It can do no harm to talk about such 
a school." 

It was a busy life the young wife entered upon at 
Blooming Grove, for in addition to the demands of a pas- 
torate upon the minister's wife, she taught for a time in 
the academy of the church. Peculiarly happy was this 
union ; the one supplementing the other ; both forming 
the completed whole of the ideal Christian home. The 
devoted wife- to-be shone forth in the following letter, 
written to Horace Mann a month before her marriage : 

"I do not know how to answer your letter, or how to thank 
you for it. 

"For your far more than kindness and for the content you 
express with Mr. Craig's choice I am very grateful as well as 
glad. I had naturally enough feared it might be different, and 
that for one whom you valued so highly you might be very 
exacting in your demands. I know well how high a compli- 
ment is in the words < fitted and adapted for each other.' 

" Shall I answer you sufficiently by saying that if I can 
help it, no preference of mine for places or people shall 
ever influence Mr. Craig in any decision he may ever have to 
make ? Wherever his work may seem to him to be I shall like 
best to go. 

" I shall not need to show him his duty or urge him to do it, 
even if I were capable of seeing and appreciating it, which I 
am not at all confident of in the present case. 

" I do remember, very gratefully, ' that Antioch College has 
done for me what no other would.' 

" I know my joy at the words — < Antioch College will con- 



146 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

tinue,' would not have been in any wise as great three years 
ago when my studies there were not yet begun as when I 
heard those words and my course was ended. Yet you would 
not demand such a vicarious atonement as that Mr. Craig should 
pay my debts. 

"I do not believe in any conflict of duties and have the 
most undoubting faith that some time in the eternal fitness of 
things I may yet show my gratitude to Antioch, and to you 
which is, indeed, the most of what I mean by 'Antioch.' 

"I cannot realize that anybody's presence at Antioch is es- 
sential save of the one with whom it is identified — in whom it 
has so far had its life. 

" But you want helpers. It is not generous that you should 
be left to work alone. I should think any one upon whom you 
may call for help would feel the call a forcible one. 

" I forwarded your letter to Mr. Craig by the first mail and 
have not heard from him since. I did not express any prefer- 
ence and begged him not to consider me as having any. You 
will not, I am sure, think me ungrateful. Please believe how 
earnestly I wish your success in your great and good undertak- 
ings and pray for your happiness in them all. 

" Adelaide Churchill." 

Deep was the interest which the young preacher took 
in the affairs of the nation, at that time slowly but surely 
approaching the great crux of civil war. 

"I cannot exult," he writes, " over the prospective slaugh- 
terings of this great struggle ; yet in view of what is to come 
of it, according to my expectations, I am exultant almost. I 
think the kingdom of heaven will be plainer to the view of 
nations when this nation emerges from this struggle for a second 
birth." 

To a friend who was on the southern side of the line he 
wrote : 

" Dear Brother Wellons : 

" My thoughts have frequently been with you since I 
formed an acquaintance with you, during our pleasant trip to 
Niagara last autumn. Several times during the last winter and 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 147 

spring I was upon the point of writing to you : why I did not 
is, simply, because it is not always a virtue of mine to do what- 
soever my hand findeth to do. 

" How much longer I should have deferred my purpose to 
write you, I cannot tell, had I not recently read your reply to 
* The Providence Resolutions.' I was glad to read that article, 
Brother Wellons ; and immediately determined to express to 
you my hearty good feeling towards you, for the liberal and 
manly sentiments you have thus given utterance to. 

"I perceive no reason why the subject of slavery should be 
made a wall of separation between those who are brethren in 
Christ, or why it should prevent them from cooperating for the 
furtherance of their plans of Christian benevolence. You are 
a slaveholder, Brother Wellons ; yet this fact (notwithstanding 
that all my feelings and convictions are opposed to slavery) 
ought not to close my sympathies against you ; nor should it 
cause me to withdraw my aid from you in any of your Chris- 
tian labours which it might be in my power to help onward to 
a happy consummation. 

" I have watched with much interest (what thoughtful citizen 
has not ? ) the progress of the recent agitation of the slavery 
question in our country. Seeing how much bitterness of feel- 
ing, and how much partisan jealousy were commingled in this 
agitation, I felt desirous, when the subject of slavery was re- 
ferred for report to a committee at the Marian Convention, 
that a mild, considerate and Christian-like report should be 
presented before that body. Such a report (to my great grati- 
fication) was presented, and adopted. That the report fails to 
please ultraists (whether Northern or Southern), is no more 
than was to be expected ; that it is acceptable to moderate men 
of all sections, I can readily believe \ that it, and the whole sub- 
ject to which it relates, will not be made a matter of contention 
between brethren who (if they remain at peace) may accomplish 
so much for the world's good, I earnestly desire and hope. It 
will not be, Brother Wellons, if the sentiments expressed by 
you on this subject are the sentiments of the majority of 
thoughtful persons in our country. 

"I am pleased to see that you do not sympathize with the 
course of those who would restrain free discussion of the sub- 
ject of slavery. Discussion is not ' Agitation.' And if ever a 
genuine brotherly feeling shall come to be felt, reciprocally, in 
the Northern and Southern sections of our country, I am per- 



148 LIFE AND LETTEKS OP AUSTIN CRAIG 

suaded that it will be, not by the efforts of those who declare 
it wisdom to keep silence upon this subject, but by a mutually 
candid and free discussion of it, by judicious and Christian 
men of the North and of the South. I trust that moderate and 
wise counsel will be regarded by our brethren both South and 
North ; and that no unwise movement or unkind speech of 
brethren in either section will be permitted to destroy the 
harmony of our united efforts for the advancement of Christian 
knowledge, freedom and holiness." 

Below will be found an extract from a letter written 
somewhat later to bis father which will give a clear idea 
of the sterner view he took of some who were engaged in 
attempts to stab the nation in the dark. It is followed 
by a letter from Dr. H. W. Bellows, for many years an 
ardent friend of Dr. Craig. Dr. Bellows was president 
of the United States Sanitary Commission, organized in 
the North to supplement the work of the medical corps 
of the army ; — the choice and inspection of camps, the 
transportation of the wounded from battle-field to hos- 
pitals and their care thereafter, the formation of convales- 
cent camps, the establishment of a bureau of vital statis- 
tics — these were some of the important features of work 
of which Dr. Bellows speaks in his letter. Mr. Craig 
says : 

" I have not heard to-day whether Governor Seymour's 
' Friends ' are yet busy in New York or not. They will be 
shot down soon, I hope, if they are still mobbing. I wish to 
see the authority of the United States vindicated so triumph- 
antly, that henceforth < not a dog shall move his tongue.' If 
traitors will have ' free speech ' to incite mob resistance to the 
government, let the government have its right to send free bul- 
lets among them. I ache to see a vindication of authority and 
law, against the lawless ; but I can wait patiently ; for I see 
how each new move of events makes manifest some depth of 
wickedness which we did not before know. Who could believe 
that our pandering to slavery here at the North could have pro- 
duced such horrid forms of negro-hate ? It is well that an op- 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 149 

portunity should be given to all to show their sympathies. 
Those who hate the government and would join the open rebels 
— if they dared — have opportunity now (and may have more 
hereafter) to show themselves ; but, it seems to me, that the 
stench of the Revolutionary Tories is no comparison to the 
offense in the nostrils which soon these men will be, who under 
pretense of Constitution-guarding, are now stabbing their coun- 
try in the dark. They will be remembered long, — I think. 

" The news from the Southwest is very cheering indeed. I 
would rejoice over our victories there, if I did not just now feel 
that the pressing point with us is to have a triumphant victory 
over the traitors at home. That will come soon, I think." 

« Walpole, JST. H.,July 20, 1861. 
" My dear Brother Craig : 

" I have flown home to my farm for a few days to rest 
my weary body and labouring spirit — after many months of 
restless activity. Your letter of June 27th I did not get till 
long after July 4th and since I received it a week or more ago, 
I have not had a moment to notice it. You can help us essen- 
tially by setting an example to other towns and communities 
like your own, of active sympathy with our Sanitary Commis- 
sion. Money is the thing we want — to send our inspectors and 
keep them in every camp and hospital, urging all the care of 
those still well, and all the possible alleviations which the hard 
condition of our sick and wounded allow of. I think a con- 
tribution taken up in your church after a suitable discourse on 
the relations of Body and Spirit, or the relations of strength or 
physical force to civil and social well-being, would be an excel- 
lent example to all our churches, and properly exploited, one 
that might be extensively followed. 

" I send you a few documents that may interest you in our 
Commission still further, for I have no time to set forth the 
matter, as I should like. 

" We are ready and anxious to receive at Room No. 24, Cooper 
Institute, New York, at the Woman's Central Army Relief As- 
sociation, all kinds of hospital clothing, and stores, flannel 
shirts, drawers, socks, sheets, pillow-cases, etc., which we un- 
dertake to distribute with judgment and despatch. 

"I am very glad, my dear Craig, of any opportunity of com- 
municating with you — for I can never forget our long and al- 
ways pleasant and profitable friendship — which, however inter- 



150 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

rupted by our diverse cares and by the hard conditions of space 
and time — is never broken in spirit, and will continue when 
wars and fightings have ceased, and the world and her con- 
cerns have all passed away. 

" With kind regard to your wife, and with the affectionate 
recollections of my own family, 

" I am your friend and brother, 

"H. W. Bellows." 

While absent from his young wife at intervals during 
this period, he wrote frequently of the impending con- 
flict in such paragraphs as these : 

" It came up rainy this morning about the time people would 
be starting for church, so not more than fifty were present ; 
sermon taken from Hebrews n : 32-34 — showing that 'Faith' 
both nourishes the passive virtues, begets the active ones too. 
For through it, the faith-heroes of olden time were 'out of 
weakness made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight 
the armies of the aliens.' Two more young men have gone to 
the army from this region. You did not know them. The 
news in the paper of Sunday morning the 28th, is that 20,000 
troops are now in Washington, and the secession spirit in 
Maryland and Virginia shows signs of submission. I can't 
help thinking that it might be best for the future, if the rebels 
should have at least one taste of the valour of the army of the 
United States. I sympathize with the Massachusetts troops in 
their desire to meet the Baltimore mob." 

"The safety of our country occupies every heart. The 
meeting in New York City Saturday afternoon last was the 
largest ever held there. Men of all parties, — Mayor Wood 
and everybody, — urge the people to fight back the rebels. 
The unanimity of the North is the cheering assurance of our 
triumph over the traitors. 

"Owen Moore has raised a company in Albany and expects 
to join the troops in Washington shortly. He was at church 
yesterday and a good many people. Sermon was on the duty 
of citizens to their country, to law, to government, especially 
in times of danger to the state — partly on that. The second 
sermon was on ' the city that hath foundations/ 



PROGRESS AT BLOOMING GROVE 151 

"In the afternoon I attended the Methodist Church, and 
participated in the services, especially in a prayer for the 
country." 

" I arrived here, Xenia, Ohio, safely two hours ago. Shortly 
after arriving a stranger accosted me, and offered me a passage 
up with him in a carriage which he expected shortly. The 
carriage did not come. So he procured a locomotive and car, 
and we are now going up. Stranger's name is ' General Rose- 
crans.' I will mail this at Yellow Springs, — or send it by the 
engineer to be mailed at Xenia." 

"The telegraph hither this morning informs us that the bells 
are ringing in Cincinnati, announcing the presence of the rebels 
across the river, — our pickets driven in by bodies of them. 
There are earthwork fortifications across the river and several 
myriads of volunteers in them to defend the city. 

" Do not be alarmed if I should not arrive Tuesday. Mili- 
tary law may impede the movements of travellers. I can get a 
pass, I presume, but don't take alarm if I should not arrive — 
and should not be able to get a telegram to you at Rome." 

Year by year Austin Craig's interest in education deep- 
ened. He had shown great capacity for teaching : he 
was to show, as other years passed, still higher powers. 
We may turn at this point to the events of one of the 
most important periods in his life, events which centre in 
Antioch College. 



Antioch College — Its founders were Christians 
who desired to make the college open as Christ 
the Church itself, to all worthy souls irrespective 
of creed, sex, colour, or condition. Antioch is 
the expression of a yearning after a better age, 
not yet come but amid all the wrecks and ruins 
surely coming, when learning and knowledge and 
science shall be consecrated to the uses of life ; 
when all civil institutions, all laws and constitu- 
tions of society shall express the will of Christ ; 
when nations shall no longer depose and oppress 
the poor and defenseless, but consider the least 
as Christ's wards and treat them so. 

Austin Craig. 



152 



IX 

ANTIOCH AND HORACE MANN 

SOME twenty miles from the eastern shore of the 
Mediterranean Sea in the midst of a fertile plain 
with the noble mountains round about, there was 
established in the far long ago the city of Antiochus, on 
the river Orontes, most magnificent city of the Hellen- 
istic Kings of Syria. Three hundred years before Christ 
the city was founded, and, until Constantinople assumed 
leadership, it continued to be the chief city of the East. 
It was a beautiful city, this Crown of the East, as the 
people of Antiochus loved to call their home, progressive, 
magnificent, luxurious, rich in all beautiful things. 

When the time of the Christ drew near it was still a 
notable city ; its people famed among other things, as 
a historian points out, "for their biting and scurrilous 
wit and for their ingenuity in inventing nicknames. " 
Here in this city of magnificent history came Paul, the 
apostle, and Antiochus became Antioch, home of the 
mother church of Gentile Christianity, place of the first 
ministry of the great disciple, the starting-point from 
whence he set out on his memorable missionary journeys 
through Asia Minor and Greece. 

It seemed particularly a city of religious possibilities 
and when at the end of the fourth century of the new era 
it became the home of a theological school which had 
been in course of formation for nearly a century, under 
the fostering of the learned presbyters of Antioch, it was 
little wonder that, as one writer puts it, "it distinguished 
itself by diffusing a taste for Scriptural knowledge and 
arrived at a middle course in Biblical Hermeneutics, — 

153 



154 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

between a vigorously literal and an allegorical method of 
interpretation." It seems particularly interesting, as we 
identify the subject of this work with the newer Antioch 
of America, that this high-sounding term, hermeneutics, 
should in its definition, — "the art or science of finding 
the meaning of an author's words and phrases and of ex- 
plaining it to others, especially applied to the interpreta- 
tion of the Scriptures," — so closely fit into the life-work 
of this brilliant interpreter of the Word of God. 

The new Antioch was not a city, but a college, a college 
destined to a storm- tossed history, where noble men and 
women have been educated, where bitter feuds have been 
fought, where truth has triumphed. With any bitterness 
of sect which may have arisen, with any dogmatical 
onslaughts, this chronicle is not concerned ; it is enough 
here to present a brief history of this institution and the 
connection with it of the man of whom this volume treats. 

In the latter part of the decade, ending with 1840, 
many educational institutions were forming in what was 
then the great West, the region of which the states of 
Indiana and Ohio were the geographical and, it may be 
said, the intellectual centre. Much was being said about 
the Universality of Education ; the development of woman 
in education ; — the education of woman alongside of man, 
indeed, was among the possibilities for which the more 
progressive hoped. 

In the state of Massachusetts lived a man approaching 
his prime who had already crowded into the tense life 
that dwelt in his frail frame a half dozen average lives. 
He was conspicuously interested in education, and par- 
ticularly the education of women on a footing with men. 
He was the most commanding figure, educationally, in 
the nation. Perhaps no name in American history will 
stand so high in the list of those who helped lay the 
foundation of secular education as that of Horace Mann. 



ANTIOCH AND HORACE MANN 155 

He had been for many years the secretary of the Massa- 
chusetts Board of Education. Drawn from his life-work 
by the tremendous national struggle then impending, he 
was sent to Congress, where he fought a memorable fight 
against the extension of slavery. Notable among the 
men who were pitted against him in the midst of those 
exciting times was Daniel Webster. 

But the life in Washington was extremely distasteful 
to him and he ever turned longingly to the work he had 
temporarily abandoned. One autumn day in the year 
1852 Mr. Mann received the announcement that he had 
been nominated for governor of Massachusetts by the 
Free Democracy, and his wide popularity both as an 
educator, a congressman, and as a private citizen, pointed 
to his triumphant election. On the same day came the 
announcement that he had been chosen president of An- 
tioch college, a college-to-be, located far from the Eastern 
home he loved so much, in the midst of a pioneer region, 
a college that was to be an experiment, one that would 
call for every ounce of reserve force in his body and 
mind, where material recompense was slight and all the 
future problematical. 

But, true to the ideals which controlled every act of 
his life, he chose the call to Antioch ; for its promise was 
work for higher things. For several years the college 
idea had been growing in the Christian denomination, a 
denomination just then attracting attention because, in 
the midst of the conflict between the old orthodoxy and 
the newer Liberalism, it took a middle ground, champion- 
ing a simple and direct Christianity. On matters re- 
ligious Mr. Mann was deeply devout ; on matters of 
morality he was strict to austerity ; on matters theological, 
he was gently liberal. When the subject of his becom- 
ing the first president of Antioch was broached to him he 
wrote in answer to the proposal : 



156 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"No event in my life has ever caused me more deep and 
solemn anxiety than the application to become a candidate for the 
presidency of your college at Yellow Springs, Ohio. The two 
great ideas which woo me towards your place are — 

''First, That of redressing the long-inflicted wrongs of 
woman by giving her equal advantages of education, — I do not 
say in all respects an identical education, but equal advantages 
of education — with men ; and, 

" Second, The idea of maintaining a non-sectarian college. 
I have always had the deepest aversion to sectarianism, and to 
all systems of proselytism among Christian sects." 

While on a lecturing tour in February of the same year, 
1852, Mr. Mann, as already noted, met the young minis- 
ter, Austin Craig, at Blooming Grove. In a letter to his 
wife, written from Blooming Grove, he refers to the 
young pastor in the words which were given in a former 
chapter. 

It was thus that a friendship was formed which con- 
tinued unbroken through the years up to the hour of Mr. 
Mann's death, and in the sadly tragic hours when the 
call came, one of those to whom he tenderly sent his last 
greetings was the man whom he had not only come to 
love as a brother, but upon whom he had leaned as an 
ever-wise counsellor. 

The impression which the young man had made upon 
his first meeting with Mr. Mann, found expression, on 
the latter 7 s return to Washington to complete his Con- 
gressional duties before assuming the actual presidency 
of the college, in the following letter : 

" Washington, Aug. 28, 1832. 
"Rev. A. Craig. 
"My dear Sir: 

' ' 1 heard of a fact to-day which gave me temporary 
pleasure and permanent pain. It was that you had been ap- 
plied to to become a member of the Faculty of Antioch College, 
and had declined. When the idea of your being connected 



ANTIOCH AND HORACE MANN 157 

with that institution flashed through my mind, it awakened 
everything of hope, and turned hope into certainty. It was a 
revulsion of feeling, that carried my blood with it, to hear you 
had declined. 

" A man like you will do good anywhere ; but how can you do 
so much good anywhere else on this earth as before children 
and with children, and transfusing your spirit into young men 
and women ? 

" Had it ever occurred to me that you were a candidate with 
the committee, I do not know that I should not have made 
your acceptance a sine qua non. I know of no man in the 
world whose daily cooperation in such a work I should so much 
delight in as in yours. I do not expect, even on the con- 
tingency of my appointment, to remain connected with the 
institution for many years. My health and age denote this. 
How delightful the idea of leaving it in the hands of such a 
man as yourself ! — able to work, willing to work, and quali- 
fied to work in the best spirit, and, of course, with the best re- 
sults. . . . 

" Yours most truly, 

"Horace Mann." 

In answer to Mr. Mann's letter came the following 
response : 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y., August ji, 1852. 
" Hon. Horace Mann. 

" My dear Sir : 

" Your very kind letter of the date of Friday last, came 
to hand and heart to-day. I am truly happy to be so favoura- 
ably regarded by one whose esteem I so highly value ; but — 
excuse me for saying it — your kind and commendatory language 
pained me ; seeming to me so little deserved by me. I know no 
position in which I could reasonably anticipate so much real hap- 
piness, as in being associated with yourself and a band of kin- 
dred minds, in the work of instructing young men and women 
in the principles of useful science and Christian virtue. 

" I declined the offer of a professorship in Antioch College, 
partly — I may say chiefly — from a consciousness of lacking the 
requisite preparation and fitness for such a post. It would cost 
me much study to become qualified to teach the Ancient 
Languages, or Mathematics ; besides it would be impossible 



158 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

for me to enter heartily upon the work of communicating in- 
struction in these branches of study, for the reason that my 
heart is in quite a different department of knowledge — that is 
to say, in the department of Christian knowledge — in its Social, 
Individual and Physical applications. I could not feel justified 
in adopting a sphere of action which could not be considered 
essentially a field of Gospel labour. Could I have a post whose 
duties would permit me, for instance, to teach the Physical 
Laws in their moral relations ; to unfold the true principles of 
personal and social morality ; to give instruction in the Greek 
New Testament ; and to preach statedly as a pastor of those 
young people ; that I could feel free to accept ; for that com- 
prehends the duties to which I feel called. 

" But I had no assurance that any such unusual professorship 
was in contemplation for Antioch College ; and so I replied to 
the letter of invitation by stating that I preferred to remain in 
my present very agreeable pastoral relation, rather than to ac- 
cept a post whose duties I could not enter upon with a whole 
heart. To teach a band of ingenuous young men and women 
the great principles of Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual 
Health, is the work which of all others I choose. I would 
sooner do that in Blooming Grove, than do anything else in 
Antioch College. I hope you will assume the reins in the new 
institution. It can hardly fail of extensive usefulness, if only 
the right men are placed at its head; especially if the right 
man (Mann) is placed in the presidency ! 

"There is a young man of the number of our * Christian' 
ministers, who would be a capital acquisition to the board of 
instructors. He is an expert and enthusiastic phrenologist ; has 
taken a regular course of medical study in a medical college in 
Philadelphia; and belongs to that class of clergymen who 
preach much respecting the Formation of Character, the Con- 
duct of Life, and Obedience to the Creator's Laws; addressing 
particularly the youth. He would love to teach Physiology, 
Dietetics, Hygiene, and Phrenology, to the young people. 
His name is Joseph G. Lawshe. He resides at present in 
Quakertown, Hunterdon County, New Jersey; an affection of 
the throat having compelled him temporarily to retire from the 
public duties of the ministry. — I take the liberty to accompany 
this letter with an * Address ' by him, in which especially in 
the pencil-marked pages at the conclusion, I think you will feel 
interested. 



ANTIOCH AND HOEACE MANN 159 

" I have taken the liberty also (knowing your interest in all 
well-meant efforts for the elevation of the youth) to mail you a 
copy of my thirteenth 'occasional tract,' entitled 'The 
Sphere of Mary.' It contains the substance of one of a series 
of sermons which I have recently delivered to the Young Men 
and Women and Children, in this place. — Should an oppor- 
tunity present itself, I will gladly avail myself of your kind in- 
vitation to visit you at West Newton. ' Elizabeth Blackwell, 
M. D.' has just issued a noble little volume of lectures on the 
* Laws of Life.' 

" Yours, ex animo t 
"Austin Craig." 

Upon Mr. Mann's formal acceptance of the presidency 
of Antioch Mr. Craig wrote to him this letter : 

"Blooming Grove, N. K, October 14, 1852. 
"Hon. Horace Mann. 

"My dear Sir : 

"I learn with feelings of gratification, your election 
to the presidency of 'Antioch College.' I believe that 
you will find a noble field of usefulness in this new in- 
stitution. I am familiar with the persons and the agencies 
which originated and are now advancing this enterprise : and I 
conceive that there will be no material difficulty in rendering 
this college superior to any other west of the Alleghanies. In- 
deed, I see not why it cannot be made strictly a ' model ' in- 
stitution. It is the first that the l Christians ' have established ; 
and they have few prejudices in favour of old things, in gen- 
eral (always excepting the old Christianity), and of old 
scholastic methods, in particular. I earnestly wish the continu- 
ance of your life, and the divine guidance and blessing to be 
with you, that you may be instrumental in the establishment of 
a great and successful institution, whence multitudes of large 
minded and benevolent men shall go forth to labour in our 
Master's vineyard. 

" I suggest that a printing office should be connected with the 
institution, and that a monthly magazine should be issued there- 
from, devoted to the advancement of the great principles and 
interests of Physical, Social, and Moral Salvation. The 
' Christians ' have no magazine of this character, — indeed 



160 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

nothing of a higher grade than the ordinary religious news- 
paper ; and a magazine of the proper character ought to secure 
an ample support, and obtain a large circulation throughout the 
denomination, but especially in the West. It ought to find a 
large support outside the denomination ; because it ought not 
to be denominational in its character. 

" I have never yet seen a magazine that meets my views with 
regard to what a Christian publication ought to be. The 
religious periodicals are sectarian, and almost exclusively 
theological. God in Theology they treat, after a fashion ; but 
God in Science, Society, and Progress, they generally ignore : 
as the scientific and the physiological publications likewise 
ignore the truths of the Christian sphere. Why must our 
periodical literature be so sectarian ? Shall we never be de- 
livered from the fragmentary and ' one-idea ' view of the 
Universe ? 

"I am impatient that Humboldt's great work, which ap- 
proaches the true standard by many degrees nearer than many 
other works, should be called ' Cosmos,' while it almost en- 
tirely ignores the moral Soul. I want to see an ably-conducted 
monthly, in which all the interests and relations of Man are 
distinctly recognized. Let us see the universe as a whole. 
Let Christianity and Science and Physical and Social relations, 
be woven together somewhat after the manner that Our Father 
interweaves Mind and Matter in His ' Cosmos.' The con- 
stant aim of every article in such a paper should be to point 
home the mind towards the true centre of the universe where 
God sits enthroned in love, and radiant with the glories of 
salvation in the person of Christ. 

" I find, in the July number of the American Journal of 
Science and Arts, an extract from Harvey's ' Marine Algae of 
North America,' which expresses an important and suggestive 
fact : 

" ' Unfortunately, it happens that in the educational course 
prescribed to our divines, natural history has no place ; for 
which reason many are ignorant of the important bearings 
which the book of nature has upon the book of Revelation. 
They do not consider, apparently, that both are from God — 
both are His faithful witnesses to mankind. And if this be so, 
is it reasonable to suppose that either, without the other, can be 
fully understood ? It is only necessary to glance at the absurd 
commentaries in reference to natural objects which are to be 



ANTIOCH AND HORACE MANN 161 

found in too many annotators of the Holy Scriptures, to be 
convinced of the benefit which the clergy would themselves 
derive from a more extended study of the works of creation.' 

"The ' Christians' are numerous, ready to learn, and will- 
ing to do. Their intellectual character and tendencies are to 
be created. Antioch College is, humanly speaking, to be the 
Providential means of this work. The president of this insti- 
tution can gain an influence over the minds of the ministers 
and people of this body, second to none. Ministers will prob- 
ably be educated by hundreds at this Jerusalem of the ' Chris- 
tians.' Why would it not be well to establish there a monthly 
magazine of the character above indicated, adapted especially to 
the wants of the young men and young women now arising in 
our country, and at this momentous era, to play a part in the 
advancement of civilization, more glorious than has fallen to 
the lot of any generation since the apostolic age ? 

" Our church has reappointed the committee of the last year to 
procure a series of lectures to be delivered to us the present cold 
season. We wish to hear you again. Will it not be in your 
power to make us an early visit, and give us a lecture or two ? 
The young men at Montgomery (about twelve miles from this 
place) have taken measures to secure a course of lectures in 
that village this winter (moved by our example), and they will 
most likely desire to secure the lecturers that visit us, for their 
own course. At least, so in regard to several who were named, 
— yourself among the rest. Of that, however, I would inform 
you hereafter. As to compensation, we cannot safely to our- 
selves offer our lecturers a larger compensation than $25 for a 
single lecture ; with the addition of travelling expenses in case 
the lecturer comes far to address us. 

" I have heard that the people in a nearer town are enquiring 
why they cannot have lectures as well as the Blooming Grove 
community. ( ! ) Heretics ought not to have all the good things, 
surely. Our nearer ecclesiastical neighbours have taken 
measures to have lectures this winter, in order to keep their 
young people away from the Blooming Grove lectures. I am 
informed that their pastor stated from his pulpit that all our 
lecturers last winter were with two — some say one exception, — 
Deists and Unitarians. Do, Mr. Mann, please tell us the names 
of some good, large-minded, 'orthodox,' lecturers, of reputa- 
tion and ability, whom we may procure to wipe away our re- 
proach. (!) Can you suggest to us the names of some of your 



162 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

New England lecturers, who would be willing to come to our 
community. Would Emerson and Parker come from the Peo- 
ple's course in New York to lecture to us ? Would Mr. Sum- 
ner (United States Senator) probably be willing to come ? If 
you can come, Mr. Mann, please give us a list of the themes 
on which you would lecture, for our consideration and selec- 
tion. 

" Truly yours, 

"Austin Craig." 



As the initial development of the college began to take 
shape, the eagerness of Mr. Mann to have the assistance 
of the young minister took ever a livelier form. Writ- 
ing to Mr. Craig from West Newton on November 8, 
1852, he says : 



" Last week the first Faculty meeting of Antioch College was 
held at my house. They were here two whole days, and parts 
of the preceding and following. We had a very full and free 
discussion on a great variety of points, and came most har- 
moniously to unanimous conclusions. We have sketched a 
provisional, not final, course of preparatory and undergraduate 
studies, which I intend to copy and send to you for your re- 
vision and suggestions. 

"I found a most remarkable coincidence of opinion and sen- 
timent among the persons present, not only as to theory, but in 
practical matters. . . . We were all teetotalers ; all anti- 
tobacco men ; all anti-slavery men \ a majority of us believers 
in phrenology ; 1 all anti-emulation men, — that is, all against 
any system of rewards and prizes designed to withdraw the 
mind from a comparison of itself with a standard of excellence, 
and to substitute a rival for that standard. We agreed entirely 
in regard to religious and chapel exercises, etc. The meeting 
was very satisfactory, and has raised my hopes very much as 
to the ultimate success of the enterprise. I can never, how- 

1 Phrenology, as noted in a previous chapter, in the sense here used 
by Mr. Mann and Mr. Craig, had a mnch broader and deeper signifi- 
cance than that commonly attributed to the word to-day. 



ANTIOCH AND HOEACE MANN 163 

ever, sufficiently regret that you are not of our number. I 
hope you will be ere long. 

"I read to the persons present a part of your letter of Oc- 
tober 14, in which you speak of a magazine for the place. We 
all exclaimed that you were the person to carry out your own 
idea. You must leave your limited circle at Blooming Grove, 
and speak to them, and to all good men, from Yellow Springs. 
What a wide sphere for your improving influence ! 

" You speak of lectures and of my lecturing. We have no 
Orthodox lecturers of any great celebrity amongst us. Emer- 
son, Whipple, Parker, T. S. King, Sumner, Pierpont, etc., are 
all heretics of a very malignant type when tried by the Ortho- 
dox standard. The truth is, the iron bars of Orthodoxy do 
not allow a man to expand into the qualities indispensable for 
touching the common heart of men. Witness Beecher and 
Bushnell, who reach the public soul only because they have 
broken from their cage. . . . 

u Yours most truly, 

" Horace Mann." 



" Your little tract is admirable. How it would suit George 
Combe ! When I go to you, you must give me some for dis- 
tribution." 

Soon after, the following characteristic letter was re- 
ceived by Mr. Mann : 



"Blooming Grove, Orange Co., N. Y., Nov. 26, 18J2. 
" Hon. Horace Mann. 
"My dear Sir: 

" Your letter of the 2 2d instant, and the enclosed 
sketch of the course of studies provisionally adopted for 
Antioch College, came to hand yesterday. Our lecture com- 
mittee have already arranged to publish an announcement of 
your expected lecture on * Great Britain,' to be given us (if 
your health permit) on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 8th. 
We will be glad to see and hear you. For myself, I will take 
pleasure in conversing with you on several themes, about which 
I wish your advice. I will say a word respecting the < Course 
of Studies,' when I see you. 



164 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"I will endeavour to arrange matters so that you contract no 
cold by sleeping in <a kind of barn-chamber.' Besides, our 
cook is conscientious, and mixes no grease in her preparations 
of potatoes ; or if she does, she gives honourable warning ! Be- 
sides this, — what is remarkable, — I do not recollect that she 
ever told me the tea was weak, when it was not so. Have you 
never, dear sir, been furnished with tea strong enough to make 
your nerves wince, and, on complaint thereof to the presiding 
functionary of the teapot, been graciously consoled with the 
lye that her tea was never made strong enough < to hurt ' any- 
body ? 

" By the way, is not the bill of fare for the refectory of Antioch 
College deserving of some careful thought from the faculty ? 
Are the cooks to have an unlimited jurisdiction over the 
stomachs of the students ? When they pass from the halls of 
science, where they have been regaling their better parts with 
Longinus and Homer, are they to be committed to the tender 
mercies of ' Pan-theists ' and ' Pot-theists ' who will gorge 
them with Ohio pork, and drench them with villainous coffee ? 
— I would not vituperate the cooks, though they have uncon- 
sciously done me much harm. They may know very well how 
to feed an Irish ditcher ; but to feed a Thinker properly is a 
'fine art,' and requires no small knowledge of 'The Right 
Use of the Body in Relation to the Mind.' 

" I would like to see the day when cookery will take place as 
a learned profession ; or, at least, when it shall be Christian- 
ized. For, at present, as far as I know, generally, the prin- 
ciples of cookery are horribly Heathenish. There is no regard 
whatever generally paid to the evangelic principle, ' What- 
ever ye do — whether ye eat or drink — do all to the glory of 
God.' How would that look as a motto for Miss Leslie's 
book of Cookery ? 

" I hope that the authorities of Antioch College will secure, if 
possible, a sensible and conscientious cook, who possesses suffi- 
cient knowledge of Physiology and Chemistry, to know how to 
discharge the important functions entrusted to him — or her. 

"Your sincere friend, 

" Austin Craig." 



Early in January of the following year Mr. Craig again 
took up the question of a periodical. His far-sightedness 



ANTIOCH AND HORACE MANN 165 

and the depth of his thought come forth in this letter, as 
well as in the succeeding one : 

"Blooming Grove f N. K, Jan. 14, i8jj. 
" Dear Mr. Mann : 

" Yours of the 8th instant, dated at Canandaigua, came 
to hand the day before yesterday. I was then on my way to 
Middletown to deliver a lecture before the Young Men's 
Lyceum. I embrace an early opportunity to reply. 

" I am not anxious that there should be an organ of the Chris- 
tian denomination established in Yellow Springs; though I pre- 
sume that there will be. My anxiety is to see an organ of 
universal truth, * nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri, ' 
and I care not if its articles all appear anonymously. People 
are so much accustomed to judge such things by the names of 
the contributors and the denominational wing under which it 
is supposed to nestle, that I would like to see the publication 
that I endeavoured to describe to you presented to the public 
free from any sectional and party relation. So that an acute 
reader should not be able to determine its connection with any 
party. Not omitting to have it such that universal, harmonious, 
eternal Truth may be found on every page of it by such as 
seek jC. 

"Creation is a Cosmos. Every fact in every science stands 
related to every other fact, and to the eternal design of the 
Creator. Isolate Truth — whether in Theologies, Philosophies, 
or Sciences, — and you emasculate it. Consider Truth — that 
is, any fact in creation — without its innate reference and rela- 
tion to the ultimate design of the universe, and you render it a 
dry husk which men may share with swinish natures ; rather 
than living bread for the nourishment of angelic natures. 
There is a divine use in all created things, and an eternal re- 
lationship established between them all. The whole universe 
is one problem, namely, How to produce the greatest pos- 
sible number of beings like Jesus Christ. All the science, 
philosophy, and art of God terminates in this. The manifold 
world around us is the means to this end. Not a sun nor an 
insect did the Creator ever make, but because He saw that His 
great end was otherwise unattainable. Our science ought to 
recognize the central principle of the Great Designer. How 
can we have a true f Intellectual System of the Universe,' — a 
genuine < Cosmos,' without that? 



166 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"I fear that I cannot give my full idea within the limits of 
this sheet. Indeed, I ought to confess that the idea exists 
vague and undeveloped with me. Your perception and sym- 
pathy will, — I doubt not, — readily see about what I mean, or 
ought to mean. Can we not have such a publication ? one in 
which universal science and art shall be represented as per- 
vaded by the mind of God, and ever aspiring to complete and 
fulfill itself in the divinest product of the creation, — a perfected 
Soul of Man ? 

" You must lead in that matter, yourself, Mr. Mann, — not in 
the pecuniary risks, or anything of that kind, — but in the plan 
and execution. Gather to the work true men from any acces- 
sible quarter. Let us have the Science of Man, of Nature, of 
Society, of Life, viewed in the light and in the spirit of that 
serene position 'where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.' 

"I feel conscious that there are laymen enough in our country, 
— men of faith and light and influence, to sustain a Christian 
movement in behalf of what is eternal and universal in the 
Gospel, as distinguished from what is temporary and sectional 
in human theologies and philosophies. I sometimes meet such 
men, and wonder at them for not attempting something. I 
saw some such at Middletown recently. They seemed de- 
lighted with our unsectarian views of the Gospel, and with the 
origin and aim of Antioch College, — particularly in view of 
your connection with it. There must be many such men ; and 
'honourable women not a few.' Can we not have an organ 
— a new ' Novum Organon ' to bring them out, and represent 
the many-sided truth ever pointing inwards? Not for these 
few, — few comparatively, — must the work be designed; but 
for 'the common people.' The time was when the highest 
knowledges were written in unknown tongues for the learned 
few ; now, we are called to present nobler knowledges and the 
profoundest generalizations of universal truth to the people ; 
yea, to the children. That is somebody's mission ; and with 
God's help it will be accomplished. 

" My opinion is that the Gospel Herald (a ' Christian ' paper 
now issued in Springfield, Ohio) will be removed to Yellow 
Springs, and a book-concern established there. I do not know 
a person now to recommend to you for such a post as you 
mention. I think that the college may furnish you one in due 
time. — Would it not be well for you to watch the signs of the 
times in the 'Christian' organs? Shall I procure them to 



ANTIOCH AND HORACE MANN 167 

be sent to you ? I doubt not that the publishers would freely 
forward them to you. Or, do you already receive them? — I 
shall be happy to hear from you soon again, and frequently. 
Meanwhile, Farewell, 

"Austin Craig." 

li Blooming Grove, Orange Co., IV. Y., Feb. 6, 1853. 
" To Hon. Horace Mann. 

"My dear Sir : 

"I employ a portion of this stormy Sabbath to remind 
you of the friendship cherished for you by your humble corre- 
spondent, and to gratify the wishes of some of our young 
ladies, who have requested me to enquire of you somewhat 
particularly respecting the terms of admission and the probable 
expenses of attendance at Antioch College. There are three 
young ladies in this region, whom I have heard speak with 
much interest in the new college. There may be others, — I 
hope there will be, — who will go from us to enjoy the advan- 
tages of a thorough training at Yellow Springs. The three 
ladies before mentioned are earnest, reformatory, 'strong- 
minded ' girls (I use this phrase in a proper sense) ; two of 
them are — from principle, I believe, — 'Bloomers.' Will that 
be an objection to their admission ? One of them applied 
recently for admission to the Florida Seminary (in this county) 
and was told (as she informed me) that they would gladly 
receive her, if she would consent to adopt the ordinary dress. 
To this she made answer that her sense of self-respect would 
prevent her from entering the institution upon such a condi- 
tion. I presume that there could be no other objection to her 
admission than that she wore the Bloomer costume. Is that 
objection a valid one ? The school was founded and endowed 
(as I am informed) by the father of Wm. H. Seward, and is 
under the direction, — it is said, — of Senator Seward. Whether 
this gentleman has authorized the Bloomer proviso, or whether 
the teachers in the institution enforce it upon their own re- 
sponsibility, I do not know. 

" Would there be any objection to pupils — of either sex — 
boarding themselves in their own rooms, at the college ? Some 
might desire this, chiefly perhaps from considerations arising 
out of limited pecuniary resources. A vegetarian student 
could easily supply himself (or herself) with food, at less than 
half the cost of board at the public table. If the institution 



168 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

should procure the cooking, baking, washing, etc., done — after 
the manner of the Mount Holyoke School — by the members of 
the school, i. e., by those of the young ladies who may be will- 
ing to serve in this capacity, you would have the cooking more 
fully under your control than when done by hired persons; 
and the cost of support would be rendered lighter to many. 
Besides you could render manual labour respected in the insti- 
tution, by this method, perhaps. 

"In the animal food put upon the table of the institution, I 
hope that the disciples in Antioch will be Christians enough to 
observe the Levitical dietary law, in regard to abstinence from 
fat, blood, and unclean animals. For all the swinish multitude 
— quadruped or biped — let one irrevocable sentence of ex- 
clusion be adopted. Over the doors of the refectory, write, 
1 Procul, procul, este profani ! ' And when you install the 
cooks, I should like to be present, and deliver the * charge.' 
I think I could preach pointedly and feelingly on such an 
occasion, — say from such a text as the last verse of ' Zacha- 
riah ' : — 'Yea, every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judah, shall be 
Holiness unto the Lord of Hosts' The interior sense of 
this passage (shall we say ?) is, that in the good time coming, 
the art of cookery shall have reference to the wholesome prepa- 
ration of food for the subserviency of God-appointed uses; 
instead of ministering to luxury and animal indulgence, as now. 
Alas ! how few cooking utensils there are, upon which the motto 
' Holiness to the Lord,' would not be sadly out of place ! 
" Most respectfully yours, 

" Austin Craig." 



X 

THE STRUGGLE 

FOR several years, in spite of incidental discourage- 
ments, the affairs of Antioch College in general 
progressed satisfactorily, though there were in- 
herent defects in the plan of establishment and the 
income basis of the institution which were bound to 
cause trouble at last. But the president persisted with 
unflagging zeal in his efforts to maintain the institution 
at a high degree of efficiency. When, however, from 
any reason the outlook darkened, he turned unfalteringly 
to the man who had never failed him in sympathy and 
aid, who out of his generous store was ever ready to 
furnish help to others. From more than one point of 
view Mr. Mann approached the young minister, with the 
end of drawing him to Antioch always uppermost in his 
mind. Now it was the suggestion of larger service and 
the duty of entering in upon it ; now the broader oppor- 
tunities offered for self-improvement and, as a result, 
larger usefulness ; now it was Antioch College and its 
future, the time when Dr. Craig should follow him as 
president of the college. 

Indeed, as the days went by, the quest became more 
and more spirited, the efforts unflagging. The letters 
which follow not only indicate this but they show the 
deeper nature of the issues involved. It became a 
struggle on the part of one man to bring closer to his 
aid one whom he felt absolutely indispensable to his own 
happiness and to the success of the great enterprise which 
had become the passion of his life j on the part of the 

169 



170 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

other, a struggle in which love for his friend, obligation 
to his people, uncertainty as to his fitness for the place, 
and doubts as to whether or not his life would be short- 
ened, constantly perplexed and harassed. Now and then 
Mr. Mann essayed a tactful approach, — though never 
aught but sincerity itself, — as witness the following 
letter : 

"Washington, Feb. 26, 1853. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" Can a clergyman, located sixty miles out of a city, sit- 
ting in his manse, with hardly a sound about him save the 
pleasant ones of waving trees or flowing waters, understand the 
hounded, badgered, tormented, fragmentary life of an M. C. in 
Washington ? If he can, then I need make no apology for so 
long delaying to answer your late letter. If he cannot, then, 
though innocent, I must be convicted. 

" The course of preparatory and undergraduate studies for the 
college has not yet been definitely determined. I sent you a 
provisional one. A meeting is called, at my house in West 
Newton, for the 23d of next month. . . . 

" A well-balanced mind graduates all the affairs and interests 
of life on a scale according to their relative importance ; and 
though young people, and imperfectly educated people, put 
some things high up on this scale which ought to be low down, 
and vice versa, yet, as they grow wiser, they are constantly re- 
arranging them, and conforming the order of caprice or mis- 
education to the standard of nature. A well developed mind 
and heart is the only remedy for youthful vagaries of 
fancy. . . . 

"I presume no one will be compelled to board at the com- 
mon table. . . . My observation, however, has convinced 
me that serious evils are likely to grow out of the self-subsisting 
method. It is usually adopted by those in straitened circum- 
stances. 

" The desire of economy, added to the inconveniences of pre- 
paring food, make too strong a temptation to live meagrely. 
Now, the philosophy of living, as you know, is to make strength 
out of food. What can poor nature do when her supplies are 
cut off; when, like the inhabitants of a beseiged city, or mariners 
on a wreck, she is put on the shortest living allowance ? There 



THE STRUGGLE 171 

is a fatal seduction about this, too, to ambitious tempera- 
ments. It gives a preternatural vivacity and activity to the 
faculties, which the deluded victim mistakes for strength. But 
its end is weakness, exhaustion, and premature decay. I know 
some temperaments will bear this much better than others. 
Unfortunately, those to whom it would be most injurious are 
most readily decoyed into it. As I grow older (may I hope 
wiser) I find my former contempt and neglect of the thoracic 
and abdominal viscera, — or, to speak it plainly, of lungs and 
belly, — gradually changing into a kind of respect, not to say 
homage ; not, however, as I certainly need not tell you, as the 
dii majores of my regard, but as the dii minores, — without 
whose help the upper deities of the brain are as helpless as a 
commodore without crew to work his ship. The calamity is 
that there is such infinite ignorance about the rules of health 
and life among our people, that the kind, the quality, and the 
amount of food which people consume are determined by every 
conceivable consideration except the right ones. 

" Of course, the very object of the preparatory school is to fit 
its attendants for admission into the college. At first, this pre- 
paratory school will be our stock in trade, — the only thing out 
of which we can make capital. With our Eastern teachers, the 
Pennells, brother and sister, if we do not have an unusual kind 
of school for that latitude, I shall be disappointed. 

"And so you recur again (and I like to read what you so 
wisely and with such simplicity say) to the subject of a press. 
One thing only you omit. You speak admirably of an effect ; 
but where is your cause ? — of a paper ; but where is your 
editor ? A glorious invention, you know, the Frenchman had 
for preventing the ravages of city fires ; but when the confla- 
gration came, he had only a specimen of it in a phial. 

"Where is the man to conduct such a paper ? That is the 
' main question ' by a higher title than any parliamentary 
law. I have pleaded with you to go. Oh, no ! you are too 
well situated with the young people whom you love, and with 
the old people who love you. As for myself, if there are half 
as many pupils there as some of your sanguine coadjutors expect, 
I shall need a hundred heads, as well as a hundred hands, to 
meet the daily demand upon labour and thought. 

" When, in my younger legislative days, I projected a hospital 
for the insane, and carried it through our Legislature unas- 
sisted, and against great opposition, the governor, on whom 



172 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

devolved the appointment of commissioners, sent for me, and 
told me he should appoint me (young as I then was) chairman of 
the Board. I remonstrated. ' No,' said he : ' you have got 
us into this scrape, and you must get us out.' What shall I 
say to the Rev. Austin Craig of Blooming Grove, New York ? 
" And now, my dear sir, to whom have I given so much time 
as to you ? And if anybody upbraids me for this, have I not 
full justification in being able to say, no one deserves it so much 
as you ? 

"As ever, most truly yours, 

"Horace Mann." 



In answer Mr. Craig wrote most earnestly from his deep 
heart : 



"Blooming Grove, N. Y., March I, 1853. 
•'Dear Mr. Mann : 

" To-day's mail brings to my hand your welcome letter of 
the 26th ultimo : and I should be lacking in that affectionate 
regard which I am happy to entertain for you, if I did not 
earnestly express to you the pleasure which the receipt of your 
two sheets gave me ; penned, though they were, during the 
closing days of an official life which my friend denominates 
* hounded, badgered, tormented, fragmentary.' — The more 
gratitude I should feel, and do feel, that amid your harassing 
official cares, you have found time to favour me with so long a 
letter. 

"The full and explicit statements made by you in answer to my 
several enquiries, leave me nothing more to seek on those heads, 
at present. 

" You must pardon me, my dear Sir, for recurring so often to 
that matter of the Press — the Antioch Press. I regard the 
establishment of a tract-publication office at 'Antioch,' as a 
matter that must be. — In plain English, Mr. Mann, the Chris- 
tian denomination has no literary and scientific character. All 
that is to be formed. It is new, virgin soil, that you are to 
cultivate in your new position. You will find our ministers 
and people very receptive (so is my conviction, at least), and I 
am persuaded that your influence outside the sphere of your 
professional relations to the denomination, might easily equal 
that which you will exert as President of the institution. 



THE STRUGGLE 173 

" Permit me to say to you, privately, that you will naturally be 
considered and treated by the ministry of the connexion, as a 
kind of bishop, or grand-patriarch of our order. — This is but 
my opinion, of course. Now, you will not consider it amiss, 
I trust, if I say to you that among our ministers you will find 
few educated men ; you will find many who entertain views of 
education, and employ methods of advancing Christianity, 
which you would disapprove. Nevertheless, I am confident 
that they will incline to reverence your suggestions, as perhaps 
no man among us could be reverenced. They will glory in 
you as a denominational possession, some of them ; but don't 
mind that, Mr. Mann. One of this class, a minister, some 
days ago, said to me that he had learned you were purposing 
to be immersed, and to come into full communion with us. I 
told him that I entertained no doubt you would obey the 
prompting of duty, as you should at any time understand it ; 
and as for 'communion,' that I believed you had long been 
in communion with Christ ; which, of course, makes you in full 
communion with us : he assented presently. 

" Will you permit me to urge you to attend the conferences of 
our ministers as frequently as you can ? You will easily gain 
their confidence and regard. 

" If you shall say, We must have a Press, and Tract-office at 
Yellow Springs ; I think it will be. And you must be the 
editor of the magazine, Mr. Mann. Your name must. You 
will have much to say of Education, Physical, Mental, Relig- 
ious : and it will be new to the great bulk of our people. I 
believe that such truth as infills Combe's ' Constitution of 
Man ' would be novel to more than half the ministers among 
us. — Yes, much more than half. 

" Now, for myself, Mr. Mann, I am willing, — in the event of 
the establishment of such a magazine as I have described here- 
tofore, — to put my pen under pledge to you for all the aid 
that I could reasonably render. I would be glad if, indeed, 
I could be helpful in so good an enterprise. My help would 
be hearty, whatever else might, or might not be predicable 
of it. 

" I know, Mr. Mann, that you ' have pleaded ' with me to 
go to Antioch ; and I have declined. It is true that I am 
pleasantly situated here; — not one clergyman in a hundred, 
perhaps, more pleasantly, — the very pleasantness of the position 
has at times weighed oppressively upon me. But I do not feel 



174 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

conscious of having declined the post at Antioch, solely on this 
ground. I assure you, Mr. Mann, that I feel incompetent to 
undertake any duties more onerous and responsible than those 
connected with my present position. I should feel a hesitancy 
about going to Antioch, until I have some more distinctly rec- 
ognized ' call ' from the Master, than I have yet had. I am 
not superstitious ; but think that the way should seem open and 
clear to any one, before he permits himself to assume large re- 
sponsibilities. 

" I am, to some extent, a weak and enervated man, although 
just upon the threshold of Life. Physical development, I 
never had. A full, noble, manly, Christian development, I 
scarce expect to attain this side the Great Change. Meanwhile, 
with such fragmentary attainments as much weakness and the 
few uncertain years before me allow, I am labouring (not with 
satisfactory faithfulness, nor near it) in a field sufficiently 
extensive to tax to their utmost all my capacities and strength. 
Please regard kindly these personal statements, and accept as- 
surances of the warm regard of one who is happy to subscribe 
himself, Your friend, 

"Austin Craig." 

The following letters develop new phases of the pur- 
suit. 

" Yellow Springs, June 16, 1854. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" I received, in due course of mail, yours of May 7th. 
To that part of it which related to your health, let me say that 
I am rejoiced to know that a clergyman is recognizing and 
obeying the laws of health, and performing the first steps in 
the regeneration of the race ; that is, their physical reforma- 
tion. You honour philosophy and religion alike by so doing, 
and enroll yourself in the new school and among the new lights. 

" I ought not entirely to omit, and yet how can I properly 
notice, that part of your letter in which you refer to the 
'Inaugural ' ? I never wrote anything that seemed to me to 
fall so far short of what should be said on the theme therein 
discussed. Your partiality alone makes you speak of it kindly : 
and yet I love to be commended, even for such a reason ; that 
is, by such a man. 

" But, my dear sir, I sat down this time to make love to you ! 



THE STRUGGLE 175 

Do not be alarmed. I am serious and literal ! I must woo 
you ; and nobody could woo who did not hope to win. 

" The Rev. Mr. Ladley, who has preached to the Christian 
Church in this village for the last few years, has just resigned. 
They are looking for a successor. Yesterday the committee 
called on me to make enquiry. Whom could I speak or think 
of but you ? ... If your right ear did not burn, there is 
no truth in signs. 

" And now, my dear sir, you want to do good. That is 
your divinely appointed mission. Where else can you reach 
and help to fashion three, four, five, or perhaps six hundred 
growing minds, and fashion them after your idea of the image 
of Christ ? There never was such an opening for you ; there 
may never be such another. Were I a believer in special 
providences, I should think this had all the signatures of 
genuineness. We have a paper here, the Gospel Herald: 
where else can you better write ? We shall have a library : 
where else can you better study ? We are students of earthly 
lore : will you not infuse the heavenly ? We are among a 
money- loving people : will you not make them sanctify money 
in its uses ? 

"Re-preaching your sermons will give you a great deal of 
time for other services. Everything says, 'Come.' 'The 
Spirit and the Bride say, Come.' 

" The people here are favourable to extempore sermons ; that 
is, when, as Mirabeau said, they have been fully thought out 
beforehand. I believe you preach so mainly. . . . 

"Yours as ever, 

" Horace Mann." 

"Blooming Grove, N. K, September ^, 1854. 
"Mr. Mann. 

" My dear Friend : 

" I do not feel quite easy about the representation of mat- 
ters made in my last letters to you. I fear that I may have 
given you wrong impressions ; if not by what I said, perhaps 
by what I did not say. 

"I am anxious to have you fully understand my views and 
feelings relative to the subject of our recent correspondence. 

" I am obligated by the terms of my engagement to the Bloom- 
ing Grove congregation, to give them six months' notice 
previous to my leaving them voluntarily. I could not, there- 



176 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

fore, come to Yellow Springs (if at all) before the middle of 
next spring. Again : I am unwilling to enter into an en- 
gagement which may require me to preach more than one 
regular sermon a week. Of course, occasionals are excepted. 
And I would stipulate for a vacation of two months, — July and 
August. I suppose that these conditions would be unsatisfac- 
tory to the society in your place. The ' Christians,' as I have 
known them, like to have several sermons a week. I have twice 
been under engagements to ' Christian ' churches, and in both 
instances found it customary to have three regular preaching- 
services a Sunday. Possibly, two may be the general rule with 
them ; but two sermons a week, I would not be willing to prom- 
ise in any place where I should settle with a view to continu- 
ance. 

" It occurs to me to state that another difficulty might be 
found in the fact that I am not — what among the ' Christians ' 
is sometimes called — 'a denominational man.' I have no de- 
nominational attachments — as such. I am unwilling to be 
known as a Christian in any other sense than that which the 
people of God everywhere acknowledge. Now, it is my opinion 
that it will be deemed desirable to secure for the Yellow Springs 
church some minister who may be fairly regarded as a represent- 
ative of the Christian denomination. If so, I can by no means 
be the man. I have no heart to preach about Trinity ; nor to 
occupy myself and my hearers with sect-dogma-controversial- 
isms. I quite ignore those things. I am concerned to 
present the claims of Christ as the Redeemer, Life and Lord 
of man ; and to show the applicability of Christ's spirit to all 
our human conditions, pursuits and interests. I do not even 
look upon the Christian denomination as embodying the * great 
movement of the nineteenth century.' (!) It is not unlikely 
that I should preach year after year without mentioning the 
denomination at all. I have so done; and might again. 
Now, judge for yourself, my dear friend, whether such a 
course would not be likely to lead to heart-burnings and em- 
broilments, in case I should be ' settled ' with the Christian 
society in Yellow Springs. 

" My present hope and purpose is to pass the winter in a 
more genial latitude, and in freedom from the labours of the 
pastoral office. I feel worn-down, — preached-out — almost ; 
weakened in body and in mind. I must keep Sabbath a while. 
Ministers get no Sabbath, who constantly preach on Sundays, 



THE STRUGGLE 177 

and are ever a-stretch to think what is next to be said. I mean 
to lie fallow a while ; hoping to increase the future productive 
capacities of the soul-soil by so doing. On several accounts I 
feel sad in view of the present unlikelihood of my seeing you 
this autumn ; but I believe it is best so, according to my pres- 
ent light. 

" I hope you will consider kindly the letters which I have 
recently written you. Do not think me light-minded and 
trivial because in some of them I have expressed the hope of 
visiting you and preaching to the society ; while in this, a con- 
trary purpose is announced. I am not as vigorous in health 
nor as buoyant in spirit, as when I wrote you early in the past 
summer. I feel now that I must not think of coming to Yel- 
low Springs. 

"But I cherish the cheerful hope that (as you have said) 
' we shall be brought together at last ! ' The merciful God 
grant it ! Not here, perhaps ; but there / what myriads shall be 
made happy in that meeting ! — Ransomed souls in glorious 
bodies, and full of immortal energies ! A ransomed Universe, 
fit in all its agencies to aid the efforts of God's children in their 
endless advance in wisdom, love and joy ! The inspiration of 
Paul rises to its sublimest strain over ' the general assembly and 
church of the first-born, which are written in heaven.' 
(Hebrews 12: 22-24). And one could almost fancy that 
Cicero had a glimpse of the glorious Family of God when he 
penned these noble words : — ' O praeclarum diem, cum ad 
illud divinum animorum concilium ccetumque proficiscar, 
cumque ex hac turba et colluvione discedam ! ' (De Senectute, 
Sec. 23.) 

" Please write me at your convenience ; and believe me, 

"Yours most truly, 

"Austin Craig." 



" Yellow Springs, Sept. 10, 1854. 
"Rev. Austin Craig. 
"My dear Sir: 

"I received your letter of the 4th inst. on Saturday, 
and have kept it two days, hoping to discover by reflection the 
wisest way of answering it. But my reflections have done me 
no good. You were sad when you wrote it, — morbidly so ; and 
I am sad when I read it or think of it. You magnify your 



178 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

duties; and then you change the telescope, end for end, to 
look at your ability to perform them. 

" The idea that it was possible and probable that you would 
come here has occupied my mind for several weeks past. The 
anticipated influence you would exert on our young men and 
maidens has filled me with joy ; and when, last week, they 
came together at the beginning of our term, to the number of 
about four hundred, I assure you it was with very vivid delight 
that I looked forward to the influence of your spirit among 
them. Was there ever a more inviting field ? With your 
eager desire to stamp the spirit of Christ upon the human 
heart, were there ever, or will there ever be, more hearts, or 
more susceptible ones, than these, on which to make the im- 
press? . 

" I thought, too, that your duties would be light here. You 
could turn the old barrel of sermons over, and begin at the 
other end. I think the people here would want to see you 
pretty often in the church ; but one of your sermons would 
make forty such as they have been accustomed to hear. 

" My dear friend, I fear the wind was east when you wrote 
that letter. Do not disappoint us. Professor Holmes is de- 
lighted at the idea of your coming ; so are others. As to ex- 
ternal attractions, we have but few ; but for one who lives so 
much as you do in the region of the heart, and who wishes to 
enlarge that region, I know of no place for you so suitable as 
this. Farewell, my friend ! 

"Horace Mann." 

" Yellow Springs, Oct. 26, 1854. 
"My dear Mr. Craig : 

" I cannot tell you, my dear friend, how much all the 
more reflecting people here were delighted with your visit. I 
think you gave many of them a new idea of the function of an 
ambassador of Jesus Christ. 

" But those whose hearts are earnest for the religious growth 
of the place, and the most subduing influences upon the un- 
tamed spirits of the youth who resort here for education, will 
never surrender the hope of having you here. I exhort you, 
therefore, to hold yourself in readiness, that, when the time 
comes, you may be translated here as quickly as Elijah was into 
heaven. . . . Yours as ever, most truly, 

"Horace Mann," 



THE STKUGGLE 179 

In April of the following year, 1855, Mr. Mann, recog- 
nizing the great talent for teaching which was so con- 
spicuous a part of Mr. Craig's many-sided endowment, 
and recognizing, too, the substantial basis of this talent, 
laid on the wide foundation of Greek literature and 
thought, wrote several letters to Mr. Craig at Blooming 
Grove. They are full of the tokens of the deep insight 
Mr. Mann had into the nature and character of the man 
he so much loved, while the answers to them have vital 
human interest. 

" Yellow Springs, April j, 1855. 
"My dear Mr. Craig: 

" I wish to write a long letter to you, but have hardly 

time to write a short one. The absence of Mr. H you 

know. All our thoughts turned at once to you. But I knew 
your engagement at your place with the beautiful name. We 
tried Dr. Siedhoff : he cannot come. We have made arrange- 
ments for the current term, not in all respects satisfactory. 
One class in Greek is postponed, which I do not like ; and 
Mr. B takes one. We want a teacher for next Sep- 
tember. It is almost six months. You can fill that place. 
Your general culture, your acquaintance with Greek thought, 
your etymology, your Greek philology, indeed, fit you admi- 
rably for the post. ... I cannot tell you how delighted I 
should be. I would take you, for a time at least, into my 
house. We would build you up bodily almost as much as you 
would us spiritually. . . . 

" Ever and truly yours, 

"Horace Mann." 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y, April 12, 1855. 
" My dear Friend Mr. Mann : 

" I put this sheet of paper and a directed envelope into 
my pocket yesterday, when, leaving my own house, I started 
for a parishioner's to pass the night; where, now, with a 
strange pen and at a writing-table not my own, my thoughts go 
forth most cordially towards you and yours. 

"First, I must thank you for the very kind and confiding 
sentiments expressed towards me, in your letter dated the 3d 



180 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

inst. Be assured, my dear sir, that your flattering and kindly 
words could not afford me the gratification they do, if I did 
not most highly esteem and affectionately regard the writer of 
them. 

" I will come now to the question proposed in your letter. 
Shall I go to ' Antioch,' or stay in Blooming Grove? Let us 
weigh the matter. You, if you please, hold the scales and 
observe the libration, while I arrange the weights and counter- 
poises. 

li I have now been four years in this place; — have taken root 
rather firmly ; feel more at home than ever before, and more, 
I think, than I ever expected to feel anywheres ; am pretty 
well known among my parishioners, and in the region around 
me ; can preach more effectively than I could anywhere else, 
until a corresponding lapse of time should afford me an equal 
degree of intimacy with the people. I even doubt that I should 
be able to become as familiarly acquainted in the same length 
of time, as I have in this place ; for within a twelvemonth 
past I seem to have been losing my readiness to visit and form 
acquaintances among the people — and personal intercourse 
seems necessary between minister and people, in order to the 
best condition of a society. To sum this in a few words, it 
seems to me that as I am now situated and known here, I can 
do an equal amount of benefit by my labours here, with con- 
siderably less expenditure of time and strength than would be 
necessary to the same amount of influence in a new place. My 
limited strength, and my occasional fears of failing health, 
make me think that to remain rooted (and propped a little) in 
this soil, is safer on many accounts than to become unrooted 
and by transplantation to a new field (or even nursery) to incur 
the risk of being unable to get firmly rooted again in time to 
yield an autumnal fruitage. I almost shudder at the thought 
of having again to pass through all the preliminary acquaint- 
ance-makings and mind-measurings and uncertainties incident 
to the settling anew in the pastoral relations. I may add to 
these considerations that I am here settled with a reasonable 
pecuniary provision for my present needs, and a satisfying 
prospect for such future time as I may be able to remain here, 
and may choose to do so. I might add that I should consult 
the wishes of my parents rather in removing nearer them, than 
in going a comparatively much greater distance from them. 
As for a distinctly perceived and keenly felt sense of duty (or 



THE STRUGGLE 181 

divine ' call ') directing me in this matter, I have it not. 
Need I say more ? Most truly yours, 

" Austin Craig." 

" Yellow Springs, April 17, 1855. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

"If I thought you had at last taken the position of a 
final, irrevocable denial and refusal ever to join your fortunes 
with ours, and help us to carry on the great work here begun, 
I should submit to my sad fate as well as I could, abate a 
great portion of my hopes, and labour with my might for the 
fulfillment of the rest. 

" In reference to the arguments for remaining where you 
are, or coming here, you say that I may hold the scales while 
you put in the weights. But, my dear sir, may I not also see 
whether the weights are correctly or erroneously marked ? If 
you put in platinum, and call it feathers, or feathers, and call 
it platinum, may I not point out the mistake, and remonstrate 
against it ? Otherwise how am I better than any peg or hook 
from which to suspend them ? 

" Now, have you not made a mistake something like this — 
quite like it — in relation to the ' weights ' ? 

"In regard to health, would not our milder climate be more 
congenial to your lungs than the butcherly blasts of the High- 
lands ? 

" In regard to society, you know that your nature yearns 
towards the young ; that, reckoning from fossil old age down 
to indurated manhood and to irrepressible youth, the fervour 
of your affections, the vivacity of your love, increase far more 
than in the ratio that the squares of the distance diminish. 

"In regard to intellectual companionship, you know that 
you are now just as solitary as you would be on the top of 
Mont Blanc. Nobody comes up to your altitude intellectually. 
You may pursue your studies there ; you may become very 
learned and wise : but it will not be that better sort of wisdom 
which is found by study and contemplation, blended with 
communion with men. The wisdom of the recluse is a very 
different thing from that of the practical moralist or statesman. 
Now, although we cannot supply you with many intellectual 
companions here at present, yet by and by I hope it will be 
otherwise. 

" In regard to the good that you can do, I must protest that 



182 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

I never saw such false weights used in all my life before. 
Why, seriously and solemnly, had you done this in old times, 
when barbarous punishments were resorted to, I should have 
been afraid for your ears; that is, your metaphysical ears. 
You must know, and do know, that whatever wisdom you 
have, or have not, you do retain more of the purity and sim- 
plicity and innocence of childhood than almost any other man, 
and therefore are divinely fitted to sympathize with the young 
while you instruct them, — to go down to the lowliness where 
they dwell in order to lift them to your height. I defy your 
modesty to deny this. 

" As for labour, — ministerial labour, — you have now a great 
storehouse of thoughts, more or less perfected : what better 
could you do, either for yourself or for others, than to review 
them, and give them, with the improvements of a second 
edition ? — thus lightening labour and enhancing benefits. 

" But what we want now in the college is a teacher in Greek 
for the coming year. Where shall we find him ? Was there 
ever such an opening ? All the circumstances point to you ; 
everything connected with the case shouts, ' Austin Craig ! ' 
You can come for this year : if then health should fail, or 
repulsions spring up, or the social atmosphere become an 
east wind, or you should lose your interest in children, then 
you could return. There is no doubt, on the least intimation 
of that kind, your people would keep your place open for you. 
Why, then, will you not come and help us for this one year at 
least ? 

" I must go and look after a class : so good-bye, and God 
bless you, and us through you. 

" Very truly as ever, 

" Horace Mann." 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y., April 22, 1853. 
" Dear Friend Mr. Mann : 

"Your letter dated the 17th instant, came to hand 
yesterday. I read it with mingled agitations of sad and glad 
feelings. I am purposing to go to-morrow home (to Peapack, 
N. J.) to lay the whole matter of Blooming Grove and 'Austin 
Craig ' and Yellow Springs, before my father and mother for 
their judgment and counsel. In a few weeks — perhaps, in 
a few days — I shall probably be able to communicate our 
finality. Meanwhile, please detail to me, at your earliest 



THE STRUGGLE 183 

convenience, the several certainties and uncertainties, likeli- 
hoods and probabilities, both of the official duties to devolve 
upon me, and of the pecuniary compensations to be connected 
with them. 

" My financial certainties in my present position are 
(humanly speaking) for the present year — $600, salary ; 
$ 1 00, incidental; the use of the parsonage house, surround- 
ings, and five acres of land ; with an uncertain margin. The 
two last-named items might be worth (I would think) in 
money-equivalent $ioo. My residence at Yellow Springs 
would involve the necessity of some additional expenditure in 
the shape of expense of travel to my father's home in New 
Jersey, — say, however, once a year ; and allow that some 
items of expenditure there, may show a result somewhat more 
favourable than attends them here. Here, I am established ; 
now, if I ' pull-up,' what certainties may I calculate upon? 
As for coming to Yellow Springs, with no certainty of position 
there, beyond the brief period of Mr. Holmes' contemplated 
absence ; would it be wise to do so ? And as for returning to 
Blooming Grove, in the event of my being unable to remain 
elsewhere ; that idea I cannot for a moment entertain. I do 
not feel assured of what your partiality towards me permits 
you to say, that my people would no doubt keep my place 
open for my return. After deliberately leaving them, they 
would settle another pastor ; and, I — how could I ask the place 
again, even if it were unoccupied ? No ; if I leave Blooming 
Grove at all, I leave it with the purpose of seeking ' a new 
home.' 

"Let me then, dear friend, understand as nearly as you 
can give me exactness of information : What duties will be 
expected of me in * Antioch ' — or in Yellow Springs. — Please, 
specify them all. Then, what amount of manhood do ye 
(the committee, or Board, or whatever ye are) deem your- 
selves engaging, in the person of your humble friend ? This 
question, even now that I write it, sounds bathic, but, the real 
amount of my scholarship — Greek or other — is small. An 
even chance if a class would not sometimes learn more from 
my ignorance than from my knowledge. (!) A very moderate 
degree of scholarship ; a tolerable facility of concealing my 
superficialness ; a willingness to do what I may reasonably 
attempt ; and a feeble energy of execution ; may be mentioned 
chief among my qualifications (or disqualifications) for a post 



184: LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

in Antioch. Your last letter leaves me disposed to weigh 
the whole matter anew ; and now, dear sir, hide nothing 
from me, which may help me to understand what my resi- 
dence in Yellow Springs may involve, require and promise. 

" Yours truly, 

" Austin Craig." 



" Yellow Springs, April 30, 1855. 
"My dear Mr. Craig: 

" By your letter of the 2 2d instant, I see I am required to 
sit down and compute the tables of an almanac, showing the 
declination, right ascension, etc., of your orb for the coming 
year, and for a somewhat indefinite future afterwards. We 
cannot, as yet, calculate the orbit of a human, astronomically, 
quite as well as we can that of Mercury or Neptune. Still, I 
will do my best. At any rate, I will put you in possession 
of facts from which you can cast a horoscope. . . . 

" The committee on the subject of teachers is authorized to 
employ a teacher of Greek. . . . There has also been a 
good deal said among the faculty about a chaplain for the 
college ; and, could we get the right man, the feeling amongst 
those of us who now supply the place of one would be unan- 
imous in favour of the demand. They have been deterred, 
as yet, from bringing forward the subject by the condition of 
the college finances, which, we have reason to hope, will be 
improved before another year rolls round. 

"Both the chaplaincy and the Greek would furnish easy 
occupation to a man so equipped as you are. ... I can- 
not believe, that, once here, you would be allowed to go away 
until you went the upper way. I have now stated the facts 
conscientiously. I will not offer any new considerations about 
your health, your growth, your very much enlarged sphere of 
usefulness, etc., but remain, as ever, 

" Yours affectionately, 

" Horace Mann." 



"Blooming Grove, N. Y. f May 7, 1855. 
"My dear Friend : 

" Yours of the 30th ultimo was in our post-office on 
my return from New Jersey last Saturday evening. — Moved by 
your urgency, I hasten to reply. 



THE STRUGGLE 185 

" The week before last I purchased a copy of Bullion's 
Greek Grammar ; designing to engage myself with it at inter- 
vals of leisure. I expect to find much study necessary, in 
order to equip myself properly for giving instruction to your 
Greek classes. I have for several years been devoting atten- 
tion to the New Testament Greek ; but, having ever in view 
the uses of the pulpit and my own satisfaction, I passed by 
many matters which I should feel to be necessary in the class- 
room. — Should I be called to the Greek chair in Antioch, 
I would strive to do what my abilities and strength might per- 
mit ; but I forewarn you that Dr. SiedhorT probably knows ten 
times more Greek than I. 

"I now definitely tell you that I am inclining to accept the 
call to the Greek professorship during the absence of Mr. 
Holmes. — But I do not, of course, announce this as the finality. 
That will be deferred, properly, until my reception of the 
official invitation from the committee. — For your own eye, 
chiefly, I now write that, I think I shall willingly, — even hope- 
fully and gladly, perhaps, — (if God please) cast in my lot with 
you and your associates next autumn. 

" I have been carrying in my pocket for several days past, a 
letter addressed to the trustees of the Blooming Grove congre- 
gation, which I propose presenting before them this week : — 
to the following purport :— 

" * Gentlemen and Esteemed Friends : 

"'I respectfully tender to you — and through you, to 
the congregation which you officially represent, —my resigna- 
tion of the pastorship which I have held among you during the 
last four years. 

"'According to the terms of our contract, I am obligated 
to give you six months' notice of my intention to withdraw, 
previous to my actual withdrawal from the service of the con- 
gregation. The six months will be ended on the first day of 
November, next. — If, however, satisfactory arrangements could 
be made for the supply of the pulpit before the expiration of 
the stipulated six months, I would respectfully request an 
earlier dismission. 

"'I make this communication deliberately; and with un- 
abated and hearty regard for you, individually, and for the 
congregation. 

"<A. C" 



186 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y., May I, 1855. 
" My dear Sir : 

"You have now all that I can at present say. — All 
that is necessary to say at this stage of our negotiation. I 
shall be glad to hear again from you, at your convenience. 
Meanwhile, with kindly greetings to your household, and 
friendliest regards to Mrs. Mann, I remain heartily, 

" Yours, 

"Austin Craig." 

Not long afterwards the following letter was despatched 
to Mr. Mann : 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y, July 5 , 1853. 
"Mr. Mann. 

" My dear Friend : 

"It will seem strange to you that, meeting Messrs. Fay 
and Brush recently to answer them finally as to my occupancy 
of Mr. Holmes' temporarily vacated chair, I began by telling 
them that I could wish my recent letter of acceptance to you 
had been miscarried, and ended by promising to come to 
Antioch (D. V.) by the beginning of your next term ! ' What 
does this strange behaviour mean ? ' — I can imagine you ask- 
ing. I wish to tell you. My charge in Blooming Grove is sur- 
rendered ; though still occupied by me, from considerations of 
obvious duty to the people, not to leave them until suitable ar- 
rangements for their pulpit- supply can be made. They refused 
to accept my unconditional resignation ; proffering me a leave 
of absence for six, twelve, or even eighteen months, if neces- 
sary.- — I made no reply, at the time of receiving this com- 
munication from the committee appointed at the congregation- 
meeting, except to tell them how uncertain I felt my future to 
be ; so far as relates to the necessary health and strength to 
work in such a field. Since that time, I had quite abandoned 
the idea of coming to Antioch ; and was on the point of writing 
you so, when Messrs. Fay and Brush intercepted me and re- 
ceived from me the announcement of my hastily formed con- 
clusion to come to you. Whether I have acted prudently or 
otherwise in this decision, I am unable to say. I had, before 
that, already reached a point where it seemed to me my think- 
ing upon the course of action to be taken by me, made nothing 
plain or satisfactory. 



THE STRUGGLE 187 

" I have recently subjected myself to the examination of a 
physician, to learn (if possible) — if not what I must do — what 
I must not do. He tells me that the cause of my present con- 
dition is a constitutionally excessive activity of the brain, as 
compared with the vital supplies in my system. He finds my 
nervous system, circulation, liver and stomach, lungs and 
'renes' all more or less disordered. And he remarked to 
me with emphasis that everything was insidiously conspiring 
to fasten consumption upon me. He was peremptory in re- 
quiring me to cease from the irregularities of habit and the 
constant weight of excitement and care, to which I have here 
been subject. With prudence, fidelity to his prescriptions, and 
some changed modes of life which he specified, he pronounced 
my cure to be reasonably anticipated. All that he told me of 
my ailments, I knew before consulting him ; and had felt the 
trouble about my lungs so much, of late, that, at times, I would 
frequently hesitate at any plans or aims, whose undertaking 
necessarily involved the idea of considerable labour or of much 
continuance. 

"It was this that made me think to write you, finally de- 
clining the before-accepted place in Antioch. With the best 
health that I have had for several years, I would anticipate only 
a moderate degree of success in the new sphere, even with the 
hard study which I had intended (and expected) to give to the 
daily lessons of the classes. And now, when in all likelihood 
I should be a semi-invalid, I both fear the failure of my efforts 
in the new position to meet the reasonable demands of it, and 
the failure of my remaining energies under the excitements 
which I could foresee in those new responsibilities. I stated 
these considerations to Messrs. Fay and Brush ; adding that a 
year of so uncertain prospects seemed, in my present feelings, 
more than I could perhaps judiciously undertake. They made 
me answer that I might make trial at least for one session. I 
thought a few moments and answered that I would promise to 
do so, — if providentially permitted. 

"And now, my dear friend, I feel that it would be better for 
the institution to secure some other for the temporary supply 
of this post ; but if — owing to the briefness of the remaining 
time, — that cannot be done ; I am willing to come (if strength 
do not fail-out) and attempt the duties of the post ; warning you 
to anticipate, in that event, no more than an honest endeavour 
and moderate qualifications may enable a not-well man to perform. 



188 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

" Should you continue to desire my coming to you, please 
write me soon ; specifying the text-books to be used in all the 
Greek classes during the next session, and throughout the year. 
Please give me also some account of what has been done during 
the last session ; the mode of instruction, etc. Will you per- 
mit me to interest (if possible) the members of various classes 
in the study of the Greek New Testament ? I shall not ask to 
substitute it to the exclusion of other studies, or even of other 
Greek ; but would gladly make an optional extra of it, if I 
could interest the students — as I might hope. Please write me 
also whether I can obtain a pleasant room at Mr. Dean's board- 
ing-house, the more retired from the scenes of outdoor pursuits 
and activities, the more congenial to my tastes. Do not think, 
however, that I wish to live a hermit. Far from it ! All that 
my strength can permit I wish to do, in associating with the 
pupils, in sharing the burdens of public instruction and worship, 
with you and your associates; but for the hours of private 
study to prepare for the better instruction of my classes, I want 
a quiet and retired room, such as I think Mr. Dean's house 
may contain, though possibly not unoccupied. Please write 
me soon whatever you may think needful or helpful for me to 
know. Present my friendliest regards to Mrs. Mann ; and ac- 
cept again the assurance of my unabated respect and esteem. 

" Austin Craig." 



XI 

THE CAPITULATION 

IN a letter written in June, 1855, Mr. Mann, noting 
that it now appeared settled that Mr. Craig was to 
be with them at Antioch the following year, spoke 
of the tremendous demands upon his own strength, so 
great that he could not ' ' get a splinter of time anywhere 
to float away upon," saying in closing: "It has been 
said that God will never ask what a man has done, but 
what he has done under the circumstances. ' ' In Novem- 
ber, of the same year, writing from Boston, he calls at- 
tention to a brief note from Mr. Craig which "said noth- 
ing about what I care most for, — yourself. You have 
made us all love you so much," he adds, "a new 
obligation is upon you. You must take care of yourself, 
for our sakes as well as for your own. The fame of 
your popularity among the students has reached here, 
and I am congratulated upon it." 

One cannot better suggest the powerful hold Mr. Craig 
took upon those with whom he came in close personal 
contact than by the following letter from Mr. Mann, 
written from Boston in January of the next year, 1856. 
Mr. Mann had come up to his own noble estate through 
great toil and amidst disheartening conditions. He was 
of that keen and high type more likely to magnify their 
failings than exalt their better parts. He was abnormally 
keen to feel his own need of help, and no other man, it 
would seem, so truly fitted his own nature and supplied 
that of which he felt himself deficient. The letter in 

189 



190 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

question, one of the saddest in all the line of published 
correspondence of great men, is as follows : 

" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" As I am writing home to Mrs. Mann, I must write a 
word to you, because you are now associated with all my ideas 
of home, — an object standing in the foreground of the picture. 
One of the regrets of absence is to be away from you. Your 
spiritual-mindedness is the complement of my nature, — of 
what I have failed to be, though I was fit to be, and ought to 
have been. But Calvinism blasphemed all that part of me; 
and, if it did not destroy the germ, it checked its development. 
I have something, I hope, of the other side, — the intellectual- 
religious side. What I have, I rejoice in ; but it constantly re- 
minds me of what else I ought to have. I desire its possession 
more fully. I do not feel too old to cultivate its growth. I 
am only made to feel and to see how much was lost to my 
nature, because all was done that could be done, when I was a 
child, to educate the love of a heavenly Father out of me, in- 
stead of educating it into me. This want I feel and deplore. 
You supply its place in me. You call to mind, better than any 
other man I have ever known, what Plato would hold to be the 
* recollections ' of a previous state of being. Think, then, 
how dear you are to me ; because I feel, if I could incorporate 
your soul into mine, it would make me whole; i. <?., a whole 
man. 

"I feel constantly, and more and more deeply, what an un- 
speakable calamity a Calvinistic education is. What a dread- 
ful thing it was to me ! If it did not succeed in making me 
that horrible thing, a Calvinist, it did succeed in depriving me 
of that filial love for God, that tenderness, that sweetness, that 
intimacy, that desiring, nestling love, which I say it is natural 
the child should feel towards a Father who combines all excel- 
lence. I see him to be so, logically, intellectually, demon- 
stratively ; but when I would embrace him, when I would rush 
into his arms and breathe out unspeakable love and adoration, 
then the grim old Calvinistic spectre thrusts itself before me. 
I am as a frightened child, whose eye, knowledge, experience, 
belief even, are not sufficient to obliterate the image which an 
early fright burnt in upon his soul. I have to reason the old 
image away, and replace it with the loveliness and beauty of an- 
other ; and in that process the zeal, the alacrity, the fervour, 




HORACE MANN 



THE CAPITULATION 191 

the spontaneousness, are, partially at least, lost. You help me to 
recover it, and fix the true image ; and thus you help my 
spiritual life. I would not part with one idea, one conviction, 
on the other side of my moral life ; but I feel as though I should 
be a better man, and a vastly happier man, if I could add your 
side to mine. And as you have opportunity, my dear friend, 
let me entreat you to impart this loving side of religion to my 
little boys. Above all treasures, I long that they should have 
this. There can be no such chasm in their being as to be with- 
out it. For the trials of life, it is the best philosophy. For the 
joys of existence, it is the greatest magnifier ; for it magnifies in 
the line of direction as well as of quantity. 

"But I am interrupted by company; and what will my wife 
say if I write but one sheet to her, and two to you to send in 
her letter? 

" Good-bye, my dear friend, 
" Horace Mann." 



The following extracts from letters written by Mr. 
Craig at this time to Mr. Mann are of interest : 

" I have never yet acknowledged in a manner suitable to my 
feelings, a very kind and flattering letter of yours to me, which 
came enclosed in your letter to Mrs. Mann, — just before you 
left New York to return home. The friendship which you ex- 
pressed for your correspondent, in that letter, was so delightful 
to me that I was fain to appropriate it to myself: but from cer- 
tain incidental utterings as to the excellencies of the person ad- 
dressed, I concluded that you had written of (and to) some 
lovely person, whom you had in mind, and then (as you would 
naturally be thinking of your Antioch flock, and of the tem- 
porary shepherd thereof, you happened to write my name upon 
the envelope. . . . Just at this point, as the ' train ' of my 
remarks was quite laid, and I was preparing to ' touch it off ' ; 
who should come in but the minister and his wife ! So I 
turned from my letter to some ' ghostly ' conversation, and un- 
ghostly apple-eating ; and, now they are gone, I do not re- 
cover the thread of my discourse satisfactorily ; so I begin 
anew. 

"I am exceedingly tickled with what you communicate 
respecting the story of those kind gentlemen who called upon 



192 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

you with the subscription on my behalf. I can easily under- 
stand how the lost $80 should be thought my loss. — Though I 
never told any one that I lost it. But how the other reports 
could have originated, — that I am necessitously poor, and have 
father and mother dependent upon me for support ! — I am ut- 
terly at a loss to surmise. I don't know that I ever told any- 
thing of my financialities to any one in Yellow Springs, except 
that once in a merry talk in the bookstore I think I stated that 
my first receipts for preaching were — (after I had been a 
preacher for nearly three years) — seven dollars, and a ' bran- 
new ' hickory axe-handle, for nearly two weeks' labour — Sun- 
days and week-days. Perhaps they may have thought that I 
ought to be ' necessitously poor ' under these circumstances ; 
but that was a mistake ; and you did a thankworthy thing in 
inducing my kind-meaning friends to desist from their en- 
terprise. 

"In relation to the matter of the students' subscription to 
make 'a present,' etc., 'I cannot say anything. 

"I am in a yielding mood now as to being present at the 
dedication services. If I shall succeed in arranging matters 
suitably, and can learn the appointed time of the ceremony in 
season to reach Yellow Springs against the day, I will endeavour 
(D. V.) to be present. I don't see how I could reasonably 
reach you by the third Sunday of this month ; you might ex- 
pect me by the fourth Sunday, — if that day should be ap- 
pointed. Let me know the appointed day ; for I cannot be from 
home more than one Sunday, at this time. 

" If you should think the time so short now that your answer 
might fail to reach me before I ought to be on the way to 
you, you can telegraph me from your Yellow Springs office to 
Washingtonville, N. Y. ; where the New York and Erie Rail- 
road has a telegraph office. I must incidentally tell you, how- 
ever, that the only message which I ever had occasion to send 
through the Yellow Springs office, had not reached Middle- 
town yet, at the time of my arrival there, five days after I 
had despatched it ! Ohio lightning doesn't always strike 
where it hits, does it? Let it be well greased before it 
starts ! 

" Away with this note to the flames ! But believe me, — 
with no abatement of former affection, — the sincere friend of 
you and yours, 

"Austin Craig." 



THE CAPITULATION 193 

In February, 1856, Mr. Mann writes : 

" My dear Mr. Craig: 

" I put a single word into Mrs. Mann's letter, more for 
the sake of telling you how Horace Mann loves Austin Craig 
than for any other reason. . . . 

" The strongest desire is expressed for your return. . . . 
Our trustee meeting is on the 12th of March, If we can have 
your affirmative reply before that date, the proper measures 
can be taken by the Board of Trustees for giving you a status 
in the college as College Chaplain, and Lecturer on the Evi- 
dences of Christianity, Professor of Moral Philosophy, or 
something of that kind. This ought to be ; for you should 
have an official relation to the students as the basis of your 
moral one. Good-bye, dear Mr. Craig ; and if my invocation 
were worth anything, I would say, God bless you ! 

"Horace Mann." 

Again with the old aim in view of drawing Mr. Craig 
to Antioch, not only because of his own affection for him 
and his feeling of need, but because he saw a day com- 
ing, and approaching more rapidly than others knew, 
when he must give up the burden and when, as he fondly 
hoped, Mr. Craig might succeed him, he despatched the 
following letter dated at Antioch College, April 7, 1856. 
This is followed by its answer together with another 
similar letter from Mr. Mann. 

"Antioch College, April 7, 1856. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

"Herewith I send you the invitation of the Christian 
Society in this place to become their pastor. I need not tell 
you how much pleasure it affords me to do it. 

"The circumstances attending the call were such as you 
could hardly wish modified, were they at the full disposal of 
vanity or self-esteem. After your name was introduced at the 
meeting, it was said that you had been elected College 
Chaplain ; and the enquiry was made, how you could be 
College Chaplain, and pastor of the Christian Church also. 
Omitting what I said about Mr. Craig as a man, it was said that 



194 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

the relation which I wished to see him fill was that of officiat- 
ing at the college one-half the day on Sundays, when the 
whole society would be invited to attend there; and the other 
half of the day at the church, when the college would attend 
there. Your morning duties at the chapel would never inter- 
fere with anything at the church, and your evening services at 
the church would never interfere with anything at the chapel. 
We could take your morning duties at the chapel whenever de- 
sirable. I said that there was a natural alienation between the 
students of a college and the villagers where it was situated ; 
that there was less of it here than usually happens ; but that I 
wanted none of it : on the contrary, I wished to cultivate 
harmony, cordiality, identity of spirit, between us; and that 
you were the man to do it. 

"After the statement had been fully made and understood, 
the vote was taken, and it was unanimous with a single excep- 
tion — Mr. C , who spoke highly of you, but gave as a 

reason for his vote afterwards, that you were opposed to church 
organization. 

" So flattering a call few men have ever had ; and so fair an 
opening for usefulness rarely falls to the lot of ministers. I can 
now see nothing of a public or general nature which can stand 
in the way of a noble mission to the people of this place, col- 
lege and village ; and I do not believe that you will suffer any- 
thing of a personal or private nature to do so. I know not 
what secrets futurity may have behind the curtain ; but I never 
saw so fair a prospect for any man's filling his worldly stomach 
with the honey of success, and his Christian heart with the 
rewards of faithful ministrations in divine things, as now opens 
before you. 

" The church will be completed about the first of May. 
Do not, I beseech you, allow the ceremony of dedication to 
pass by without your presence. Let all future associations 
connected with the house be seen through the medium of that 
beautiful light. Even if you must go back for any period, 
longer or shorter,- — though I sincerely hope not, at least during 
our present term, — come and be present, be installed, at the 
time of the dedication of the house ; and then, if absolutely 
necessary, I doubt not you can obtain leave of absence. But I 
want that radiant point in the sky at that place, where it will 
forever be so conspicuous. 

" . . . We are all well, thanks to the good laws of God 



THE CAPITULATION 195 

which we are trying to worship- Him by obeying. We have 
about sixty new students this term, notwithstanding all the 
efforts of the ungodly to keep them away. . . . 

" I am, as ever, yours devotedly, 

"Horace Mann." 

" Frankford, Philadelphia, April 12, 1856. 
" Mr. Mann. 

" My dear Friend : 

"Yours of the 7th instant reached me at this place 
last evening. The cordial and kindly expressions con- 
tained in your letters to me are always most grateful. Very 
pleasant, too, the unanimity of the society in their late action 
respecting the settlement of a pastor — as reported by you and 
by Mr. King. How much I am drawn to the position which 
invites me, I can hardly express to you. I am not, however, 
ready to write you that I will come. 

li Let me frankly tell you what considerations weigh with 
me now. 

" First, I fear that the involved (if not required) duties of 
the twofold relation will overtax my strength. You will readily 
conceive the difference of drain upon me between preaching 
once a week to my parishioners here in Orange Co., and 
preaching twice a week in Yellow Springs. I don't see how I 
could avoid the necessity of far more study in your place than 
is necessary at home. 

" Of course, I don't wish to avoid any study or labour, to 
which I may be at any time really adequate. If I could feel 
any certainty as to my being physically competent to the duties 
of the position in Yellow Springs for even a year, I would in- 
cline to occupy it. I don't know but that I would take my 
risk, in any event. 

" But I have been made to feel this spring more keenly than 
ever, that I must take care of my troublesome weak constitu- 
tion. 

" I mention all this to learn from you what amount of duty, 
specifically, devolves upon the future incumbent of the 
Chaplain-pastorate. I would earnestly seek, in any case, re- 
lease from the commonly imposed (and to me most onerous) 
duty of promiscuous ministerial visitation. I allow the duty 
(and wish the opportunity) of visiting the sick and such as may 
wish to see the pastor. 



196 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

" One other matter, — least poetical of all (and to me least 
tasteful) — I mean to consider hereafter (not in the first place, 
however) the pecuniary results of my time and service. Dur- 
ing my ministry, I suppose that I have expended as much, — 
perhaps more than I have received. 1 mean now to do what I 
reasonably can to provide for the future contingencies of this 
life. I have really formed a careless habit of dealing with the 
financialities, which subjects me to the criticisms of those 
near to me, and the rebukes of my own mind. 

"Before determining to come to Yellow Springs, I wish to 
understand what compensation I may reasonably expect (not 
what an irresponsible number of persons may imagine). My 
position in Blooming Grove is worth $600 in money and $100 
in parsonage and ' incidentals.' I could obtain more. — Shan't 
ask for it : but have heard that it may be offered me. 

" Now, shall I come to Yellow Springs and do twice the 
duty required in Blooming Grove for the same compensation ? 
I shall be willing, — if some stern voice of duty so bids. I am 
so unaccustomed to writing and speaking of such matters, that 
I really don't know how it sounds to a right-minded person. 
I have meant to write properly and suitably ; but I have some 
not pleasant feelings even in writing of such matters. 
"In friendship-affection truly yours, 

"Austin Craig." 

" Yellow Springs, May 16 , 1856. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" We have concluded to dedicate the church on the 
second Sunday in June, — the eighth day of that month. It is 
the unanimous wish of the committee that you should preach 
the dedication sermon ; and you are hereby invited to do 
it. . . . 

"And now, my dear friend, how could you write me so in- 
complete a letter as yours of the 7th inst. ? The people here 
are all agony to know ' whether Mr. Craig accepts the invita- 
tion to settle with us.' I told them, that by the middle of this 
week, we should undoubtedly hear from you. That 'time 
came, and your letter, but not a word about anything beyond 
being present at the dedication. That, of course, would be 
most agreeable, but is not the thing. . . . The flock is 
without a head. What wolves will invade the fold, if left in 
this condition for six months, who can tell? . . . 



THE CAPITULATION 197 

"My dear friend, let me exhort you to do two things. 
Come and speak for us in the chapel, Sunday, June ist ; dedi- 
cate the new house, and be installed as pastor of the church 
here the next Sabbath ; and having got released from what 
you call ' home ' let us make you another, and, for the good 
you can do, a better home. I hope to hear from you soon. 
With best regards from all, 

" I am, as ever, most sincerely yours, 

"Horace Mann." 

Perhaps nothing would better illustrate the value 
which Mr. Mann set upon having Mr. Craig at Antioch, 
or his own imperative need of him, than the letter 
which he wrote from Yellow Springs in July, 1856 : 

" Yellow Springs, July 3, 1856. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" I received yours of June 23 a week ago, and have 
been most anxiously awaiting intelligence from your society. 
To-day it has come, and is, as doubtless you both know and 
knew, in the negative. 

" Is this irreversible ? If so, my first impulse is to resign at 
once, and leave. I know the consequences : not that my with- 
drawing would be of any account ; but if I should go, Mr. 

Pennell and R , of course, would not remain a day. This 

would be fatal to the concern. 

" I should regard this result more than I can express. I 
think I can sacrifice my own ease and emolument for the sake 
of success in accomplishing the great enterprise for which I 
came out here ; but if no one else will make any sacrifice for 

the welfare of the college, and if we are to have Mr. as 

pastor of the church, or any one like him, then I feel as though 
the success of the college itself, at least under my administra- 
tion, is jeoparded, and the only motive which I have for stay- 
ing here is gone. You supplied all conditions. Your refusal 
to come leaves all conditions unsupplied. I write in haste and 
sadness, but am, as ever, 

" Truly yours, 

"Horace Mann. 

" P. S If the refusal of the society is peremptory, is it per- 
emptory after six months from the time you notify ? I shall 
await with great anxiety an answer to this enquiry." 



198 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

The shadow of ill health for years following steadily on 
Mr. Mann's path, was darker now and more sinister. 
The next letter discloses more of this though it does not 
indicate how great was the danger. The letter is self- 
explanatory : 

"Mackinaw, Michigan, August J, 1856. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" Yours of July 20 has been forwarded to me at this 
place, whither I have come in search of the fugitive, health ; 
at least, to escape from the debilitations of our summer heats. 
I wish you were here. It is a fortnight to-day since we ar- 
rived ; and such paradisiacal weather as we have had ! just 
warm enough not to be cold, and just cold enough not to be 
warm. Only one thing is wanting to me, and I should thrive 
like a green bay -tree; and that is the home diet. 

"Last night we had some commotion among the elements; 
and to-day it is cloudy, and a fire is comfortable. But a few 
whiffs of this air would make your lungs give a hygienic laugh. 
I am sorry to hear there are any symptoms in your throat or 
elsewhere which give you present discomfort or forebodings. I 
am afraid of that Eastern climate for your lungs. I do not 
believe that air will ever agree with you. It requires a Boreas 
to blow it, and none but a Boreas can breathe it. You are an 
exotic in it ; and even hothouses will not save you, I fear. 

" My dear friend, you must answer me one question ; for it 
will be an element in coming to conclusions that now impend. 
It is no other than the question I put to you before : Suppose 
the six months during which you feel yourself bound to the 
Blooming Grove Society to be at an end, would you, or would 
you not, come to Yellow Springs? That is the question. 
Why should you not answer it ? It is an important element at 
least, if not a decisive one, in regard to ulterior things. I 
came here with great hopes, ready to put forth my best efforts, 
ready to make any sacrifices probably resulting in success. If 
I am to fail, I have already sacrificed too much; and the 
sooner I stop, the more strength I shall have by the time I get 
home, which I hope will be about the 20th inst. 

" Yours lovingly, 

"Horace Mann." 

In a letter written on his return to Antioch in October, 



THE CAPITULATION 199 

Mr. Mann spoke of Mr. Craig's visit to Antioch in char- 
acteristic phrase : ' ' Your having been here, and being 
gone, and being going to be gone, seem to me like a sad 
and doleful dream. Then comes the consciousness that 
it is not a dream, but a reality." The autumn passed on 
into winter, the devoted president steadily burning out 
the candle at both ends. No matter what came, no mat- 
ter how deep or great the disappointments, or how bitter 
the consciousness that he should never see his dream of 
Antioch fulfilled, he never lost his hope that he should 
some day gain a nearer relationship to the man whose 
immediate, personal touch he needed so much. 

Mr. Craig had meanwhile gone South on a much needed 
vacation, as the two following letters indicate : 

"Alliance, Ohio, January if, 1857. 
" Mr. and Mrs. Mann. 

"Very dear Friends : 

"Austin Craig is in Ohio at this present writing and 
date j expects to be in Indiana to-morrow, and in New Orleans 
next week (D. V.) — a fugitive by the overground railroad 
from those severe Northern masters, Frost and Cold. The 
genial South may constitutionally receive him from their 
dominion. 

" In brief, and without figure, I am expecting to spend the 
remainder of this cold season in New Orleans — with John T. 
Jeter — of the ' Florence House ' ; to whose care, you can address 
me until about the first of April, next, — as I suppose. Then I 
am expecting to return slowly by way of Havana, Charleston, 
Washington, home to Blooming Grove by May day. This is 
my present plan and expectation, subject to change and over- 
throw by Fate or Contingency. 

"I would gladly write you a letter more worthy of your 
friendship, — than this hasty, fragmatic scrawl is likely to grow 
into. ' Suffer it to be so now.' I am awaiting the arrival of 
the train, which is to convey me on towards Cairo, via In- 
dianapolis. 

" Mrs. Mann, please mail the enclosed letter to Dr. Hoyt — 
if you can learn his present whereabouts. And do not forget 



200 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CJRAIG 

some time to write me the titles of those little books which you 
wrote me that you valued so highly. I have a little friend 
about four years old, counting by time ; but really much older 
in capacity of perception and apprehension. If you meet any- 
thing of worth for little people, please write me of it. I will 
try to reciprocate such favours. 

" I was reading John Sterling's Poems yesterday. — I infer 
that Carlyle's < Life of John Sterling ' lacks the wholeness of 
truth. I shall wish to read what Hare has written of him. 
Oh, how unsatisfying is all talent, taste and genius, which does 
not whole-heartedly worship the Lord Jesus Christ ! 

" I want to hear what Mr. Mann is doing this year. It is 
his year of instruction. Dear sir, favour me some time with a 
full account of Antioch affairs from your standpoint. 

"My friendly regards to <H. M.,' <G. C. M.,' and 
'B. P. M.' I wish them < Happy New Year.' 

" Kindly words and friendly to Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Dean. 
I was hoping to see Mrs. Pennell — but I don't go to St. 
Louis. 

" Farewell, — in Peace ! 

"Austin Craig." 



" Cairo, Illinois, March 24, 1857. 
" Horace Mann. 

" My dear Friend : 

"I am detained here a few hours, and feel that I can- 
not more agreeably to myself devote a part of this leisure, than 
in writing you this renewed assurance of the esteem in which I 
continually hold you and yours. 

" My letter to you, to Mrs. M and you, from New Or- 
leans, a few weeks ago, acquainted you with facts of my arrival 
and sojourn there, which I need not repeat. I left that city 
last Tuesday (17th instant) ; having been there not quite six 
weeks. I did not have such opportunities of preaching during 
my sojourn in New Orleans as I hoped for. I preached but 
three times, indeed, once in the 'Christian Chapel/ and twice 
in the Mission Church (Presbyterian), on Thalia and Franklin 
Streets. I preached on the river four Sundays,— had a curious 
audience last Sunday afternoon in the steerage of the steamer 
Si. Nicholas. Have you ever seen the lower-deck community 
of a Mississippi steamer ? What an ' underworld ' it is ! 
There were over a hundred, men, women and children— 



The capitulation 201 

mostly foreigners ; poor, and dirty ; lying tier above tier in the 
dingy space. Thirty or forty, perhaps, listened; as many 
more heard, who did not listen, — I suppose ; and many neither 
listened nor heard, but played cards, swore, and made uproar. 
I repeated the Parable of the Prodigal to them, and spoke of 
Man's Sinfulness, God's Compassion and Christ's Mediatorial 
Life and Death, for twenty-five or thirty minutes. A dozen or 
more gave me a friendly hand and words of thanks. 

"I have not seen enough of the South to speak of it freely. 
I was treated with great friendliness by all with whom I had 
intercourse. And New Orleans — interesting as the capital city 
of King Cotton, — is not (as far as I saw) liable to disparage- 
ment in comparison with our other great cities (except Phila- 
delphia) on the score of Public Decency and Order. From 
what I learned, I judge that it is making decided advances in 
moral and religious and educational interests. I met Mr. 
Beach, an Antioch Junior, during my stay. 

"I have recently extended my acquaintance with the devo- 
tional literature of the Romish Church ; and with great satis- 
faction to myself — I know not but with benefit, also. A little 
book on the Devout Life, by St. Francis of Sales, and 
Faber's ' Growth in Holiness,' among others, charm me. Many 
of the sentiments and rules of life in these books are, in form, 
similar to the doctrines of physiologists ; yet they widely differ 
in efficacy and character by the motives they present. Physi- 
ology presents low motives to physical obedience. The Gospel 
enjoins many things — in form — identical with the Health-laws 
of Physiology, but the Gospel presents the necessary high 
motive. I cannot say that Physiology — i. e., the knowledge of 
Natural laws, as such, has done me much good. I have never 
effected any act or vow of self-denial under the influence of 
Physiology. // seems to me like the Mosaic Law — a system 
of truths calculated to make us feel our needs, which only the 
helping spirit of God can effectually supply. I cannot, of 
course, say what science and Natural-Law-instruction may have 
done for others (in the way of prevention, — good) — but as for 
recovery, subduing a strong appetite and the like, I feel as- 
sured that Faith-power rather than Physiological-perception 
must be found the efficient agent of Vital Reform. 

" You are at the close of another session I presume. How 
has it been with you ? Do you retain your cheerful, hopeful 
view of the ultimate success of Antioch ? What course of in- 



202 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

struction are you pursuing with your Seniors ; and what text- 
books are you using ? I suspect that you would find Michaeli's 
' Commentaries on the Laws of Moses ' a useful and interesting 
adjunct to your instructions on the Constitution of Man. 
(Pardon me for implying that you do not know all about the 
work ; for it is a scarce one — found only here and there in 
some theological library. — A book of its idea and design — 
conformed to the present advance of science — would be in- 
valuable.) 

1 'Please address me at Peapack, N. J., or if not before May- 
day, then, at Blooming Grove. Remember me kindly to 
Horace, George and Bennie. I am writing this letter with a 
pen-holder which bears upon it their initials, and often reminds 
me of them. 

"Tell Horace that if he can find time from conning 
chemical formulas to commit to memory the historical parts 
of the New Testament, he will rejoice over that acquisition 
hereafter. 

"Affectionate greetings to you and to Mrs. Mann; in hope 
of a speedy communication from you, Yours, 

"Austin Craig." 



" April 6, 1857. 
" My dear, ever dear Mr. Craig : 

"Your letter from Cairo reached us the day our term 
opened. Since then, the number and character of my duties 
in launching our craft for another term have crowded me half 
way to insanity. But to-day we are under sail, and all posts 
are manned or womaned. 

" I should have written you on some points ; but Mrs. Mann 
has said them better than I could. Ponder them, — for Anti- 
och's sake, for humanity's sake, for God's sake, ponder them. 
The bird's wing was not made for the air, nor our eye for the 
light, any more than you for Antioch College. Why will you 
keep things apart that were made for each other? 

"If I could feel that you would be my successor here, I 
should be ready at any time to say with old Simeon, ' Now, 
Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace.' 

" May God bless and let me direct you ! Is that wicked ? 

"As ever, yours, 

"Horace Mann." 



THE CAPITULATION 203 

Two characteristic letters follow : 

" Yellow Springs, June 7, 1857. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" The vision forever flits before my mind, that, if I am 
to be at Antioch College, you are to be here too. It cannot be 
selfishness. It is genuine heart-belief that nowhere else can 
you do so much good as here. . . . Now be a good boy ! 
Don't be over-modest. Trust in God some, in Austin Craig 
also, and listen to this request ; and make it prophecy now, 
and history hereafter. 

" Yours, as ever, most truly, 

" Horace Mann." 



"Blooming Grove, N. Y., June 9, I857. 
" Dear, Esteemed Friend : 

" If I could sit down in quiet with you for a while, 
either in your own house, — or here in mine (now won't you 
come this summer ? ) — I should probably have no lack of mat- 
ter to tell you or to ask you about. But writing is so prosy 
and worklike that I don't really feel, — now that I have begun a 
letter to you, — to have anything to say. 

"I write at all to notify you that your Cincinnati speech 
reached me to-day, (thank you heartily ! ) — but inside the leaf, 
in your hand, was the name of ' Peter Cooper,' and, thinking 
that possibly you might wish to know the fact, as a clue to 
some undesigned exchange of packets, I determined to write 
you this at once ; and, for the rest, tell you that some time 
hereafter when I feel that something worth communicating is 
with me, to write you a letter, instead of the empty note which 
this is. 

" I dare say you are busy, and over-busy, as the Com- 
mencement nears you. Success attend you, even that best 
success (which I believe is not lacking to you) of inspiring 
others to aim nobly and do faithfully ! 

" A letter from your place to this region, speaks heartily of 
your late ' sermon ' on ' Miss Dix ' ; and laments that such 
' sermons ' are ' like angels' visits.' 

" Will Mrs. Mann inform her friend, when the work ' Christi- 
anity in the Kitchen ' is to be out ? And then, when is the 
thing to be in the kitchen ? 



204 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"I have friends who are experimenting and efforting in that 
direction ; to whom the book will come welcomely. 

"I want to ask you whether you know from experience any 
substance or compound that will nourish the Brain ? 

" Is there any recent work on the Analysis of Diet-substances, 
which you could commend to me ? 

"Friendly remembrances to Mrs. Mann and Horace, George 
and Bennie, and to Mr. and Mrs. Dean. 

" Peace to thy House and thy spirit ! Yours, 

"A. Craig." 

Days of great moment to the struggling college were 
now at hand. Its storm-tossed history seemed likely to 
be at an end unless aid came. So stormy had it been and 
full of danger, one wonders, had Mr. Mann realized it all, 
would he have taken ship as the master of the craft? 
And yet, so easy would it have been at various times for 
him to have left the craft with honour, resigning the cap- 
taincy to another ; so easily could he have found war- 
ranted excuse in greater opportunities for good elsewhere, 
in failing health, and the like. It would have been 
natural that he should feel under obligations to go ; un- 
noteworthy had he given up the ship to another. But 
this heroic figure stood ever in sight of the reefs ; he 
seemed to know in advance the full scope of the peril ; he 
would not, he could not, give way to any other hand un- 
less it should be the one in whose guidance he felt su- 
preme confidence. 

Writing from Yellow Springs in July, 1857, he notes 
the first vital change in the life history of the college, 
following his letter up swiftly by a postscript, written 
the next day with another one in similar strain soon 
afterwards : 

"Yellow Springs, July J, 1857. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" A new crisis has come to our affairs. 
"First, however, let me say that we have had a glorious 



THE CAPITULATION 205 

Commencement. Governor Chase was here, and he says it 
surpassed anything he ever saw in Ohio. Rev. Dr. Gannett 
was here from Boston ; and he says, that, in all the particulars 
that affect a moral and accountable being, they never have 
had anything to compare with it in the East. 

". . . The Board has met and elected a new Board. 
Antioch College has 'failed.' All its property is assigned for 
the payment of its debts. The whole scholarship system will 
be abolished. All the professors, including your humble serv- 
ant, were decapitated by the old Board. The new one, how- 
ever, did replace the president's head before the flesh and 
nerves had become wholly cold and lifeless ; so that with care, 
they may stick together once more. 

" A new faculty is to be formed, and the cabinet will be a 
unit in sentiment and purpose. 

" Always much, but now more than ever, must the Rev. 
Austin Craig come to the rescue. His services are indis- 
pensable, — first, as chaplain, to preach half the day on Sun- 
day, having no connection with the village but that of cordi- 
ality and reciprocity of good works; and second, that of 
teaching, more or less as health may permit. 

" Now, my dear friend, we have a chance for a college such 
as was never known before : In my ' Baccalaureate, ' on 
Wednesday, I laid down the great doctrine, that the power of 
knowledge ought never to be added to the power of vice ; that, 
up to the time of entering a college class, the most vicious and 
abandoned should be educated ; and the more so, the more so. 
But, after that, none but the virtuous, the earnest, those who 
give confident promise of righteousness or right-doing, should 
be invested with the prerogatives and enchantments of knowl- 
edge. 

"Now, my dear friend, I feel God-authorized to say you 
must come and work with us, and, when my mantle falls off, 
take it upon your shoulders. I see no alternative but this. 
Blooming Grove, compared with this, is but the tiniest islet to 
the Western continent. . . . 

" Yours in the Lord and Antioch, 

"Horace Mann." 

"Antioch College, July 4, 1857. 
u My dear Mr. Craig : 

"Although the ink is hardly dry on the last letter I 



206 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

wrote you, yet, having a chance to send by your friends, I im- 
prove it. 

" I hardly know what I wrote you before ; yet I know I wrote 
what was nearest my heart, and therefore it must have been 
about your coming here. If you would do so, I know it would 
be the turning-point in the institution. It will make a differ- 
ence of many students ; and, what is better, it will make a dif- 
ference in the moral and religious character of all. How gladly 
would I help you work here ! how rejoicingly I would leave 
you here when I am called away ! I know we have a chance 
for an institution here such as exists in no other part of the 
earth, — one founded on the love of truth and righteousness. We 
have the power of saying, and of maintaining the doctrine, equally 
new and great, that we will graduate none but true, exemplary 
youth ; and this will push the world along half a century at one 
impulse. But, to all the good things I plan, you appear in the 
foreground of the picture. . . . 

" Pray let me hear from you soon. . . . These matters 
must be settled without delay. 

" Yours as ever, and more so, 

" Horace Mann." 



" Antioch College, July 18, 1857. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" Yours of the nth instant has reached me to-day. 
The delay has given me restless sleep and horrid dreams ; but 
your letter promises a pleasant morning after a dreary night. 

" First, I send you a catalogue: second, I am afraid you 
want more exactness of detail, than it will be possible for me, 
in our present disorganized state, to give ; but I can make one 
assurance sure, — that we love you too well, and believe that the 
Lord has too much for you to do hereafter for Antioch College, 
to allow us to put your health in peril. 

"I feel as though I could yet, in desperate circumstances, 

perform a great amount of labour, and so does R ; and 

what you can't do, I hope we can. What is wanted is, that 

you, temporarily, should fill Mr. 's place. The college 

and school are so utterly dissatisfied with him, that it is said the 
whole of our to-be seniors would leave if he is retained, and at 
least half of all the other college classes. The case, therefore, 
is desperate. 

" ... Six thousand dollars are to be raised by sub- 



THE CAPITULATION 207 

scription, which, with the expected income from tuition and 
rooms, is thought to be sufficient to pay the teachers at about 
the same rate as heretofore ; and I think you should be paid 
according to the proportion of your labours. But on this point, 
my dear friend, you must trust to the Lord a little, and, while 
you are reasonably careful about earthly treasure, lay up some- 
thing in the upper treasury, whose officers never embezzle or 
defalcate. You will be worth ten thousand dollars to the moral 
interests of the college ; and all this will, I have no doubt, be 
transferred to your account in the book of life. As to the 
future, you know what I hope and intend for you. 

" Yours as ever, 

"Horace Mann." 



Mr. Mann found it impossible to free his mind of the 
belief that the coming of his dearest friend to Antioch 
would save the day. Again and again he wrote urging 
Mr. Craig to come. On August 17, 1857, Mr. Craig 
wrote a letter in which he defined his position even more 
pointedly, making it clear beyond peradventure that he 
did not then feel it his duty to leave Blooming Grove. In 
the letter he says : 

"After many fluctuations of feeling, I am conscious that I 
have not at any time felt it to be my duty to take the post to 
which you invite me. It is in my power to say that in deter- 
mining my duty in any case of recognized importance as this is, 
I do not overlook my need of the highest illumination and 
guidance. I have not been able hitherto in the use of (as I 
suppose) the proper means, to arrive at any sense of duty in 
this matter of coming to ' Antioch.' I preach to others, that 
Light is to be waited for, and that we do well to stand still un- 
til we are satisfied of the Divine call to go forward. 

"Furthermore, my dear sir, in my inmost contemplating of 
the duties of the proposed post in ' Antioch ' in contrast with 
the quiet (to me so attractive) of the country pastor's life ; I 
have found it really impossible to wish to come thither. My 
heart is not there. How can I help that ? Without any sense 
of duty to make me feel strong in the self-denial, and without 
a feeling of attraction to the place and its duties, how could 



208 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

I be otherwise than weak and unavailing there, or anywhere 
under the same conditions ? 

" Have I not presented really a strong case? My feelings of 
sympathy with you in the manifold perplexities of your position 
demand from me friendly words (and sometimes upward-look- 
ing ones), but I must not permit them to blind me to the fact 
that I feel no call of duty to come to you. It has occurred to 
me that Rev. E. G. Holland (a < Christian ' minister) for some 
two years resident for study and observation's sake in Germany, 
and now (I suppose) on his return, might be found an accept- 
able and efficient man for the post. His turn of mind is to- 
wards Belles Lettres. 

"lam sorry to send you this letter. But I must tell you the 
truth ; and this letter contains the truth (as it is to me) in rela- 
tion to this matter. 

" May God make you strong, and give you the true success. 

"Austin Craig." 

Deep sadness came to the president upon receipt of 
this letter. 

"I have received your late letter," he writes, "extinguish- 
ing all my hopes. I have no doubt of your being able to justify 
to your own conscience the conclusion to which you have come. 
It would, indeed, be most lamentable, if, to the indescribable 
evils, consequent upon your decisions, that of any conscious in- 
terference of choice with duty were added. 

"I will now say in strictest confidence to you what I have 
never said to any living being before, not even to my wife, — 
that the probability of my continuing for any length of time in 
my present position is very slight." 

He then recounts the sad straits into which the college 
has fallen through the leaving of professors and the at- 
tacks of enemies. " It would have had the appearance 
of rashness," he adds, speaking of one of the acts of the 
board of trustees, "and perhaps of passion, had I re- 
signed at once ; and I shall do nothing to prejudice the 
institution when I leave it. . . . I do not know what 
will come ; but one thing I mean at all events to do, — 



THE CAPITULATION 209 

to keep a conscience void of offense towards God and 
man." 

But brighter, even if temporary, light, came npon him 
and he resolved to make one last effort, this time in per- 
son. So he went all the, then, long journey of over eight 
hundred miles, to Blooming Grove, met the pastor on his 
own ground and won his case. It was a momentous strug- 
gle on the part of both men. The more so as each one of 
them was absolutely devoted to the right. Soon after 
Mr. Craig received the following letter to which the 
answer is given : 

" Antioch College, Sept. if, 1857. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

"I saved the college by going to Blooming Grove and 
securing your services in it • but I came near losing myself. 
For thirty-six hours after I left you, I was more ill than I have 
been for years. I laid by at Dunkirk over Sunday ; and was 
just able to reach home, semi animus, on Monday. Well, I had 
this to console myself with, — if I got you, though I killed my- 
self, I had made a great bargain. 

" Our school opens grandly with about a hundred new 
students, and a better-looking class of students than we have 
ever had before. These students have all been brought here 
by our reputation : they have not come to save six dollars a 
year on a scholarship. They evidently come from the more in- 
telligent class in the community, and thereby show where our 
strength is growing. I have great expectations from your con- 
nection with the college. I understand there is great jubilation 
among the students, — a double jubilation indeed, — one for 
those who are to come to help us, and one on account of those 
who are not. Your presence is looked for most anxiously. 
The contrast between you and your predecessor in this branch 
will be immense. 

" We are all well. I have had a dreadfully hard time since I 
returned. I want to tell you how the ungodly were caught in 
their own snare ; but this must be when you get here. Our 
arms are all open to receive you. . . . 

" Your friend, 

"Horace Mann." 



210 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

" Blooming Grove, N. Y., Sept. 2j, 1857. 
" Dear Friend Mr. Mann : 

" Yours of the 17th instant arrived yesterday. 

" The large number of new students, at such a time as this, 
promises well for the future of Antioch, I think. 

" The Programme of Logic and Rhetoric recitations is well 
arranged for me. — Thank you ! 

"I am in the midst of a chaos — outwardly and inwardly. 
Outwardly, as respects the pulling-down and packing-up in- 
cident to my removal ; and inwardly, the conflict of uncertainty 
whether I am clearly in the way of duty ; the sadness of leav- 
ing friends here who look upon my stay with them as the pros- 
pering of their church-interests, — our meetings, since you were 
here, are semi-funereal, and a foreboding, at times, that all will 
be failure at Antioch, — as far as my coming thither is con- 
cerned. To occupy the position, which another must regard 
as rightfully his own, will require great circumspection and 
Christian prudence. I beg that you will not permit your 
friendliness towards me to make you speak anything in my be- 
half calculated to raise expectations in the minds of those who 
are to be my pupils. Leave me, I pray you, unnoticed. I will 
do the best I can ; but I am confident that my shortcomings 
will be watched, if not by students, by those to whom any failure 
or shortcoming in the vacated chairs will be only too noticeable. 

"For a kindred reason, I wish that you would not distin- 
guish me in any way above my co-workers. Do not announce 
me in public as Rev. Doctor ! My dear sir, I have as much 
' powder ' aboard as almost any man. Don't inflame my 
vanity ! I have heretofore said nothing to you about that. I 
am afraid, among other considerations, that it will make me 
the object of disagreeable attentions from my ' Christian ' 
brethren. I have written a semi-jocose essay on Clerical 
Titles, which I am thinking to send to the Christian Herald 
and Messenger. 

" But, at any rate, do not make me conspicuous. — I ask it 
for the sake of our general good, as well as on account of my 
private feelings. 

" I foresee that great wisdom and long-suffering forbearance 
are now necessary to give the college success. Many — many 
hard words and unjust surmises and unkind acts, may be met. 
May we be « armed ' all over with Faith, Patience and Meek- 
ness ! 



THE CAPITULATION 211 

" If you would write me again to reach me before starting, 
finally, for Yellow Springs, address me at Frankford, Pennsyl- 
vania. 

" With affectionate regards to your family, 

" Yours, 

"Austin Craig." 

In a day when the huge figure of Theodore Parker 
loomed high amidst those who took part in the prevailing 
theological discussion and dissensions, when that pioneer 
among the liberals, with his biting satire and his de- 
nunciation of cant and his devotion to truth, as truth 
revealed itself to him, was fighting the great battle of his 
life, it was not always a desirable thing for a man in the 
van of orthodoxy to be known as a friend, even as a pass- 
ing acquaintance, of this Titan of pulpiteers. In his own 
words Parker has shown how alone he was in the world, 
how shut away from sympathetic friendships, save the 
splendid friendship of his great congregation ; but Horace 
Mann knew Theodore Parker to the core and he was thus 
more than willing to write this brief note : 

"March I, 1858. 
" To Rev. Theodore Parker. 
" My dear Mr. Parker : 

" I take great pleasure in introducing to your acquaint- 
ance one of my dearest friends, and one of the best and truest 
of men, — the Rev. Austin Craig. 

" You and he may not agree in exegesis ; but I know no 
two men who, in all matters of duty to man, or love to God 
would be more in unison. 

" I commend him to your fellowship; and remain, as ever, 
" Most truly yours, 

"Horace Mann." 

One of the last letters written by Horace Mann to Dr. 
Craig closes like a benediction. It was in the year of the 
former's death, near the close of a service in which, liter- 
ally and figuratively, he had offered himself as a sacrifice. 



212 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

And yet, no matter what the future might hold in its 
darkness, nor how near Death walked, he lost no oppor- 
tunity for further service, neglected no opportunity to 
enlist the services of others in every way possible in the 
mission to which he was consecrated. The letter in ques- 
tion is as follows : 

" Yellow Springs, March j, 1858. 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

" You have not yet been gone two days, and we are 
all homesick for you already. My ears tingle to know what 
you are saying and doing at Stafford to-day. 

" . . . Doubtless it will be given you in that selfsame 
hour what you shall say : but, among the things which you do 
say, I trust you will not omit to dwell with earnest, apostolic 
unction upon the character of our students ; their freedom 
from almost all the vices and evil habits which are common- 
place in other colleges ; the security of gardens and orchards 
and vineyards wholly from any depredations of theirs ; on the 
fact that both the men and women of the village have been 
watching the past season for offenders against the temperance 
laws, yet never has suspicion rested on one of our students of 
having so much as visited a drinking saloon or other similar 
resort ; the feeling with which the young men are regarded by 
the ladies of the place; the high, elevated, and often religious 
tone of their exercises, whether for exhibition or class compo- 
sitions; and what I think will strike your audience very 
forcibly, — the fact that, among all who have gone out from 

here from all the classes, is the only bigot I know of. 

They go out, generally, deeply impressed with the importance 
of religious truth, but enquirers, not dogmatizers. 

" And now, my dear, very dear friend, may peace and bless- 
ing attend you all the days of your life ! 

"I know Mrs. Mann would send indefinite quantities of 
love if she were here, and so would the childers. 
" Ever and truly yours, 

" Horace Mann." 

Leaving these letters, redolent with the perfume of a 
splendid friendship flowering in the devoted lives of two 
noble Americans, we may turn to the more active part 



THE CAPITULATION 213 

Which the younger of them was to play in helping for- 
ward the institution which had promised so much and 
which, in some way, in spite of all its unto war dness, had 
in it the power to draw out the very best effort of those 
who became identified with it. 



XII 

ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 

THE intense toil, unrelieved by rests and embit- 
tered by constant discouragements, told heavily 
upon the devoted president. As the year 1858 
wore on it became apparent to his friends that, unless a 
respite of some kind came, the fatal end could not long 
be put off. And the respite to Horace Mann never came, 
but death mercifully did. 

In a history of Mr. Mann's life prepared by his wife 
and published some forty years ago, — not long after his 
death,— she speaks in these words of the situation and of 
the effort of Mr. Mann still further to associate Mr. Craig 
with him in the work at Antioch : 

"From this time, — November, 1858, — the tired brain knew 
no more respite. Labours accumulated, because a failure of 
the funds that had been privately subscribed to pay the faculty 
and teachers obliged some of them to leave their duties for em- 
ployment that would pay their current expenses; and this 
threw more work upon those who were left. Again Mr. Mann 
implored Mr. Craig to stand by the institution, and sustain it 
with his valuable influence as long as it floated upon the waves 
of uncertainty, which were rendered more boisterous than ever 
by contending elements. But Mr. Craig had lost hope, and 
would fain have plucked his friend away. He felt that he — 
Mr. Mann — was working at too great a disadvantage, and that 
either the community around him must be more sympathetic 
with the movement, or the college must be sustained by ample 
funds to enable it to act independently of the evil influences 
that abounded." 

Dr. Craig had given himself in the cause of his 

214 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 215 

friend unstintedly. He had helped at great personal 
sacrifice in time and effort to support Mr. Mann, and he 
had come to believe that the president should no longer 
sacrifice himself in a losing cause. 

But the fight went on against overwhelming odds, and 
after a season of the most intense and exquisitely refined 
mental and bodily pain the sad end came and a great 
American went to his reward. 

All through the period of his relations to Antioch Mr. 
Mann had hoped for a time to come when, the institution 
fitted and equipped for the largest possible service, his 
friend, in whom he had implicit trust, might be called to 
become the head of Antioch ; but though that end was at 
last reached by the efforts of the friends of the institu- 
tion, it was not until several years after the death of Mr. 
Mann. 

In March, 1858, the financial condition of the college 
being in most wretched shape, a committee was appointed 
at a convention of the Christian church held at Stafford, 
New York, to make out an appeal for aid for the college, 
first of all to the members of the Christian denomination. 
Dr. Craig was a member of this committee and prepared 
the appeal. It was an extensive paper, a genuine docu- 
ment of the church, thoughtful, sane, reasonable, diplo- 
matic without being shifty, bearing the unmistakable 
marks of the charity, the clarity, and the shrewd common 
sense of its author. He traced in the appeal the course 
through which Antioch had passed, drawing a parallel on 
the way between the early history of the Christian de- 
nomination and the history of the movement which Paul 
headed in the days of the ancient Antioch hard by the 
blue Mediterranean. He noted, too, that while many of 
the pioneer preachers of the new faith were illiterate 
men they were "good men and full of the Holy Ghost, 
and of faith. " At the same time, the lack of an educated 



216 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

ministry worked against the denomination, especially in 
the cities where "the earlier preachers met with little 
success in addressing the more cultivated classes." 
They had "failed to obtain an adequate hearing from 
the educated and influential portions of society." 

Dr. Craig showed how the members of his faith had 
gradually come to see that education was imperative and 
that a school of their own was desirable. He recounted 
the meeting seven years before in the interests of the 
college when the long pent-up waters broke forth with a 
rush as the gray-haired old ministers sadly told how 
their lives had been hampered by insufficient education. 
He outlined in clear, unmistakable language the sub- 
sequent history of Antioch, how it was decided to endow 
the college by scholarships of one hundred dollars each, 
selling to a person for that amount a perpetual right 
to have one pupil educated at the college ; how promis- 
sory notes, instead of cash, were accepted for these 
hundred-dollar pledges ; how over eleven hundred 
scholarships were sold ; but by far the larger pro- 
portion of them were never paid for,— save in promises 
to pay ! 

The erection of the college buildings which, for that 
day, were really splendid academic structures, was re- 
counted. The financial condition of the college was then 
clearly set forth. It appeared that the institution was 
about seventy thousand dollars in debt with no hope of 
liquidation. The board of trustees had made an assign- 
ment of the college property for the benefit of the cred- 
itors of the college. At a subsequent meeting of the 
board it appeared that the college had been unable to 
pay its debts from the start and was going into debt 
at the rate of ten thousand dollars a year. 

Incidentally it was clearly shown that co-education 
at Antioch had been successful. This was particularly 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 217 

interesting from the fact that it was the first college 
in the world to open its doors to young men and women 
upon an equal footing. Dr. Craig, far in advance of his 
generation as he so many times was, had himself ad- 
vocated co-education years before this. Interesting in 
this connection, also, is the fact that it was the first col- 
lege to provide for the admission of the black race. 

The whole appeal was a masterly presentation of the 
situation. It no doubt did much good but there was a 
class of persons who appeared to be satisfied with noth- 
ing less than a complete subversion of the present insti- 
tution. Some of those of more narrow vision in the 
Christian denomination felt that the interest taken in 
the college by men who were liberally inclined theolog- 
ically was a dangerous omen. These were outspoken in 
their denunciation. Dr. Craig had been the preacher 
at Antioch for one school year, as noted in the chapter 
dealing with his pastorate at Blooming Grove, — while 
at the same time temporarily filling the chair of Greek. 
In March, 1859, the year of Mr. Mann's death, he 
answered one of the critics in a clearly-set-forth letter 
showing the topics he had discussed in sermons during 
his stay at the college. It was one of the steadily re- 
iterated charges that the institution was leaning towards 
the liberalism of Theodore Parker. Prominent men in 
the more liberal branches, — the offshoots of the great 
orthodox church, slightly to change the figure, — and 
those who were in little, if any, sense, orthodox, had 
been among the welcomed lecturers at the college. Such 
men as Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Theodore 
Parker himself had appeared before the students and had 
been warmly received. 

In the letter referred to Dr. Craig gave a list of his 
twenty-eight addresses during the college year, all of 
them, while not essentially orthodox in the Calvinistic 



218 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

sense, were unquestionably orthodox in the Christian 
denomination's interpretation of the Scriptures. 

"You may observe," he says, concluding his letter, "that 
the series began with the Crucified Saviour and ended with 
the Judgment. Ten weeks after the last sermon was preached 
a * history ' of Antioch College was published, which warned 
our brethren against ' recent Antioch renovations and the 
substitution of the liberalistic theology for Christianity.' If 
you think it worth while to have this injurious and untrue 
allegation fully disproved before our brethren, I am willing 
to furnish you detailed reports of Antioch sermons preached 
during the last college year. Was the Gospel of the crucified 
Saviour preached at Antioch last year ? Or was it * liberalistic 
theology, ' ' Theodore Parkerism ' ? I say that it was not the 
latter, and I am ready to prove it." 

The l i history ' ' to which Dr. Craig refers needs only 
briefly to be referred to here. It was an interesting, 
though unfortunate feature of the situation in the 
day when it appeared, and though its attacks upon 
Antioch, chiefly in the form of half-truths and innuendo, 
were the source of much pain and annoyance and did 
much to bias those who did not know the real truth, it 
is not of sufficient value historically for elaboration. 
It was written by one who had been an instructor at 
Antioch. It purported to be a "History of the Rise, 
Difficulties, and Suspension of Antioch College. 7 } 

So unfair was the book, and so misleading, it at last 
caused Dr. Craig to break the silence he had maintained, 
in order that the real truth might not longer remain be- 
fogged. In a long paper, printed in the Gospel Herald 
of April 20, 1859, he took the book in hand and effec- 
tually disposed of it. He pointed out that it was an un- 
happy book in that it lacked so many of the requisites 
of true history, — as Fairness, Fullness, Truthfulness. 
An illustration, by the way, of the absolute genuineness 
and sincerity of the man who reviewed it, is seen in the 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 219 

fact that, after his manuscript was completed, he kept 
it back for three months to make sure that his state- 
ments were not warped by the just indignation it had 
aroused. During these three months whenever he came 
into what he called his " calmest moments," he would go 
over the manuscript again and again, striking out what- 
ever he might think harsh or unkind. He rewrote the 
manuscript four times and then, still further to fortify 
himself against any possible harshness and to make sure 
that his reply to the misstatements was unobjectionable in 
both expression and spirit, he sent the manuscript to one 
of the oldest and most respected ministers in the de- 
nomination requesting him to point out any passages or 
words which he might think ' ' objectionable on the ground 
of Charity." 

Dr. Craig himself put the matter in graphic form in 
saying that the simple facts in reference to the misstate- 
ments were so like cannon-balls that a man void of 
animosity might wish to wrap them well in velvet before 
projecting them forth. 

Many of the points raised, and which were deftly and 
for all time brushed away by Dr. Craig, would have little 
interest to the general reader to-day, though they were of 
vital moment at a time when the struggling institution 
needed every possible support and encouragement. 
Some unkind thrusts were aimed at Dr. Craig. There 
was a covert charge that he was not in sympathy with, 
and did not in his chapel services inculcate, the essential 
beliefs of the Christian denomination, that he differed 
from all, or nearly all, members of the Christian church. 

In sharply defined sentences Dr. Craig refuted the 
statements and proved his steadfast devotion to what 
were the real tenets of his faith. Frequently in the 
book Mr. Mann was attacked in open or covert language, 
one of the points raised being his particular interest in 



220 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

Dr. Craig and, hence, favouritism to him. The fact that 
during President Mann's absences from the college he 
left Dr. Craig in charge gave rise to jealousy on the part 
of this other man. Some of the expressions applied to 
Mr. Mann were not only brutal but grotesquely absurd, 
charging him with " cruelty," with " most despicable 
injustice," and the like. Frequently the writer of the 
book indulged in words wholly unbecoming a gentleman. 
Many of the statements began with "it is said," follow- 
ing this up with untruths uttered by some mythical third 
party. "I do not question the fact," comments Dr. 
Craig on one statement, "that somebody 'told' Mr. 

A these bitter words ; for men with diseased livers 

may be found even in Ohio ; but it is strange that a 
historian should deem Jaundice historical authority." 

An illustration of the despicable unfairness of the book 
is the insinuation made that Dr. Craig had done great 
harm to the church in substituting certain reading circles 
for Sabbath evening prayer-meetings during his stay at 
Antioch. The Sabbath evening meetings in vogue when 
Dr. Craig reached Antioch were attended by a mere 
handful of students. One January evening there were 
but six present and Dr. Craig proposed that they remove 
from the sombre schoolroom where the meetings had 
been held to the bright and cheery Ladies' Hall and in- 
vite in all the students for religious reading and conver- 
sation. The result was that about a hundred responded 
to an invitation which was in direct line with the newer 
and saner ways of studying the vital truths of the Bible. 
Now and then at the meetings extracts were read from 
famous writers on some germane subject, and, as was to 
be expected, the interest was lively and sustained under 
such a leader. 

The charge in the book of introducing in Antioch a 
more liberal Christianity, or the substitution of "Theo- 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 221 

dore Parkerism" for Christianity, was particularly 
aimed, as he well knew, at Dr. Craig. He answered 
the charge with consummate skill. Without being harsh 
he was yet exactingly truthful, and without being either 
venomous or spiteful, he was yet unsparingly just. 
He gave in clear phrase a sketch of his introductory 
sermon on entering the college for his period of temporary 
teaching, showing that he was clearly within, and kept 
within, the limits of his denomination. The central fact 
in the sermon was that the marrow and life of the Gospel is 
Christ ; not a system of theological ideas, nor a code of 
ecclesiastical polity, but an incarnated divine Person, 
containing and expressing " all the fullness of the God- 
head," and, therefore, filling all things. " Take Christ 
out of the Gospel," he said, " and you leave it meaning- 
less and unprofitable : * Without Me, ye can do noth- 
ing.' " He laid special stress, also, on the statement : 
The blood of Christ is the one foundation of evangelical 
conviction of sin and assurance of pardon. 

The saving sense of humour was one of Dr. Craig's 
attributes. His wit was keen and facile, and though he 
never allowed his equipment in this line to lead him, by 
ridicule, to take unfair advantage of an adversary, he 
yet sometimes very effectively made use of it. In a letter 
to the editor of the Gospel Herald, Dr. Craig took oc- 
casion to sustain his claim as being a loyal member of 
the Christian denomination in these words : 



" I have never been connected with any denomination except 
the 'Christians.' My early years were familiar with their 
teachings, and with the persons of many of their esteemed 
preachers. In my father's house, while I was yet a child, I 
heard the Gospel preached, and the Trinity exploded to atoms, 
by Simon Clough and Joseph Badger and Abigail Roberts and 
Barzillai H. Miles and Isaac N. Walter, — all departed now ! 
I could mention the names of ' Christian ' ministers whose 



222 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

hands were laid on my head, many years before that laying on 
of hands which made me ' Elder Craig.' 

" I remember Simon Clough's big white hat, a little foxy, 
as it looked almost thirty years ago. I remember Philetus 
Roberts, when he was yet a stripling and beginning to ' exhort ' 
in public, how he looked (rising up after William Lane's 
triumphant, solemn-sounding voice had ceased) with a hand- 
kerchief in his outstretched hand, and big tears on his cheeks. 

"Twenty-five years ago, I heard * Father Nutt ' (Elder 
Samuel Nutt) read before our evening devotions the entire his- 
tory of the ' Plagues of Egypt ' at once ; and, when I heard 
him preach, I did not wonder that he had converted people on 
both sides of a river, at the same time ! I have almost seen 
Kinkade ! And before I was ten years old, I had read in his 
1 Bible Doctrine ' how he got his first Bible by grubbing in a 
briar-patch. 

"What shall I say more? Shall I tell you, how I heard 
Elder Goff 's earnest, solemn tones in prayer a long while be- 
fore I shared with him in 1848 the duties and joys of his own 
pastoral charge in Camptown ? Shall I roll back twenty years, 
to tell you how Elder L. D. Fleming captivated my childish 
heart as his kind eyes beamed on me through his gold spec- 
tacles, and his sweetly thrilling voice delighted my soul? 
Shall I tell you how years and years ago, I heard Elder John 
Ellis sing ' The White Pilgrim's Grave ' ? The White Pilgrim, 
too, I have heard preach. I remember his tall form as, at my 
father's door, he mounted his white horse, with his white hat 
on his head and his white shoes on his feet, only three weeks 
before he was a white corpse ! 

" Or shall I tell you, how, at seven years of age, I had 
read besides the immortal 'Pilgrim's Progress,' only two books, 
the Bible, and the ' Gospel Luminary — conducted by 
D. Millard and S. Clough,' at that time the Sun and Moon 
in our ' Christian Heaven,' — the books, I mean. 

"But let me not 'become a fool in glorying,' and yet, 
might I not say * ye have compelled me ' ? For that I, who 
am (so to speak) ' a Hebrew of the Hebrews ' — ' a Pharisee, 
the son of a Pharisee,' who have been styled 'Elder' Craig 
these fifteen years, and now as my gray hairs come, have 
just been rounded out into 'the first Christian D. D.,' — to 
have some young man rise up and question my orthodoxy 
and call me ' nominally ' a member ! 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 223 

"Reared thus in familiarity with the doctrine of the 
< Christians,' I was yet in my nineteenth year, when I began 
to preach among them. Not long after, heartily approving 
their professed principles, as I do this day, I joined myself to 
them, on the 30th day of May, 1844. 

"Thus, I continue in the fellowship of the 'Christians' 
unto this day ; because their principles teach me to love the 
General Church of Christ, and leave me free to extend equal 
affection and fellowship to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ 
in sincerity." 

Whatever Dr. Craig approached he left illuminated 
and clarified and so in this instance, all fair-minded men 
could but see the real truth, condemn the error, and 
remember gratefully the one who to his own distaste, bnt 
because he felt the obligation of service upon him, had 
given the book its right status before the world. 

One cannot forbear this bit of correspondence as illus- 
trative of the universal affection which he inspired. It 
is a letter written from Antioch by Mrs. Mann to Dr. 
Craig's mother. He was just going back to visit her 
after his initial work at Antioch : 



" My dear Mrs. Craig : 

" Allow me to introduce to you my friend, Mr. Austin 
Craig. It is impossible to tell you how sorry we are to part 
with him, but you can doubtless only too keenly imagine our 
regret. I assure you I enjoy the thought of your happiness 
in seeing him very highly indeed, for I know what a good 
son he is. We hope most sincerely that the call he has re- 
ceived from the little society here will bring him back to us 
at no distant period. Every one concurs in the feeling that 
no other but himself will ever unite the contending elements 
of this village community in which the college is located. All 
these contending elements are united upon one point — and 
that is Mr. Craig. 

" He has won his way into all hearts and identified him- 
self with all the interests of the place. He has moved around 
amongst all classes, young and old, and every one blesses his 



224 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

footsteps. When he preaches to us, we do not think to 
ourselves, — ' That is for our neighbours ' — ' How nicely this 
applies to our enemy,' — but ' How it applies to me.' My 
husband feels truly bereaved at the parting, and can only 
reconcile himself to it by the hope that he will return. From 
the earliest period when he concluded to come to Yellow 
Springs, he always said, ' Mr. Craig must go too.' It was a 
part of his conception of Antioch College. 

" I remember your short visit with pleasure, and hope to 
have many repetitions of it. I also hope to return all your 
visits, past and future, when I go East next summer. 
" Yours with much regard, 

" Mary Mann." 



On the death of Mr. Mann the affairs of the college 
were in deplorable shape and the loss of the leader seemed 
a heavier shock than the institution could bear. And 
yet even though Antioch were beset with many ills, even 
though it had mortal enemies among those who should 
have been its staunchest friends, it was not to die. 
Eeverend Thomas Hill, a leader in the ranks of the Uni- 
tarian denomination, was called to the presidency. The 
college had been given marked aid and support by Dr. 
Hill's denomination. In point of fact, the board of trus- 
tees contained eight Unitarians. 

When it was seen that the college must fall without 
outside aid, various plans were tried as the result of Dr. 
Craig's earnest appeal to the Christian denomination, 
but they had all come to naught. The college failed, 
and assigned all its property for the benefit of its cred- 
itors : a new organization was effected with a board of 
trustees having twelve Christian members, and, as noted, 
eight Unitarian. The new organization was entirely 
free and disconnected from the old one but under obli- 
gation u to perpetuate its general educational policy and 
be managed and conducted upon its liberal principles. " 
It was a union of the two denominations, with each one, 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 225 

— through its representatives upon the board of trustees, — 
held in check by the other. It was expressly forbidden 
that religious or theological opinion of any kind should 
ever be set up to exclude any person from the benefits 
of Antioch College. It was provided that the president 
of the college must be elected from the board of trustees 
so that the president must be either of the Christian or 
the Unitarian faith. Every precaution was taken to 
place the institution upon a sound financial basis. 

Dr. Hill did not find his incumbency a bed of roses. 
He found that he, too, must face the enemies of Antioch. 
In a letter written to Dr. Craig he spoke as follows : 

" Yellow Springs, July 26, 1862. 
" My dear Brother Craig : 

"And I should very much like to see you and Bloom- 
ing Grove. But when I shall go East I am sure I do not 
know. 

"I commend our poor bantling Antioch to your care. 
Between the call upon young men to the army, and the 
stringency of the times produced by this awful rebellion of 
Southern Barbarism against Northern Civilization and the 
apathy of Eastern men of wealth to Western claims and oppor- 
tunities and the prejudices of the Gospel Herald against my 
so-called Unitarianism, I have been compelled to desert my 
post, — and I would that it had been less of an empty honour 
to you, this unanimous election of you to succeed me without 
salary and with leave of absence for a year. 

" It appears to me that nothing can be done here of conse- 
quence while the war lasts. After that one of two things 
must be done : Either graduate the expenses to the income 
and conduct the affairs economically (almost impossible with 
such huge buildings), or else raise a generous, bona fide en- 
dowment. I cannot approve of the makeshift expedients of 
the past ten years. 

" I hope we shall at least meet next June at Antioch Hall. 
Remember, you must come then, or send fifty dollars, or else 
resign your place ! 

" Ever truly yours, 

"Thos. Hill." 



226 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

It will be noted by the above that Dr. Craig had been 
unanimously elected president of Antioch. He recog- 
nized the importance of the act and the possibilities of 
Antioch even under all the heavy burdens that had rested 
upon the college, but he was slow to accept the position. 
The leading men in the Unitarian denomination had long 
recognized the splendid qualities of Dr. Craig. No doubt 
they could have wished him an out-and-out member of 
their fold, yet they were keen to recognize his allegiance 
to his own denomination and respect it. But there was 
something in his splendid catholicity that bound them 
closely to him. 

An early letter from Dr. H. W. Bellows, one of the 
leaders of the Unitarian denomination, illustrates the 
regard in which Dr. Craig was held. It was written at 
the time when Mr. Mann was so earnestly trying to get 
Dr. Craig to go to Antioch. 

" Walpole, N. H., August 23, 1855. 
" My dear Craig : 

"Your handwriting is always grateful to my eyes, 
as your thoughts and affections are refreshing to my soul. 
I grieve to think that you require any change of place to 
make you well ; but if you must change, I am resigned to a 
removal which carries you to the scene of so much moral in- 
fluence as Yellow Springs. Your modesty and reserve do 
not permit you to tell me anything about your plans ; so that 
I do not know whether you go double on this journey or not ; 
nor whether you have abandoned your charge at Blooming 
Grove finally, and taken a permanent post at Yellow Springs ? 
Pray, inform me how it is ! I think we have a right to know 
whether you are soon to be Benedict, the married man ; 
who, when 'he swore he would die a bachelor,' 'did not think 
he should live to be married ' — (See ' As You Like It '). I 
really hope you are about to consummate this happy measure, 
and if it be so, present you in advance (it may be on the 
very eve !) the congratulations of our experienced hearts. 

" In regard to your health, my dear Craig, I confess I do 
not expect to see you ever a very stalwart man. Your brain 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 227 

and heart are too full of thought and feeling, to have much 
time for the vulgar offices of digestion and blood-manufacture. 
It is perhaps impossible that you should be Austin Craig, and 
a well man. Had some stupid John Smith dwelt in your 
clay, he would have found it plastic enough to the beef and 
pudding he crammed into it, and by this time your tall 
skeleton would have been clothed with muscle and fat. But 
I could as soon undertake to fat up a Damascus small-sword, 
or a streak of June lightning, as you, conscientious devotee, 
always intent on finding the truth, and urging it on other 
people ! I do hope something from the social elements you 
will meet at Antioch ! Pray try and be a little indifferent 
about the world's progress and your own salvation for a year 
or two ! Is not this pious counsel ? 

" We intend to procure our daguerres when we return to 
New York and forward them to you at Yellow Springs by 
Mr. Dean, or other opportunity. Excuse our neglect to this 
time, but it is so difficult to attach much importance to one's 
own image ! Will you not leave me yours ? I shall value it 
highly. Tit for tat is good morals. 

" Affectionately yours, 

" H. W. Bellows." 

In a letter written to Dr. Craig June 21, 1858, from 
New York, Dr. Bellows makes note of his own financial 
relations to Antioch saying that he had not yet succeeded 
in saving one-half the amount subscribed by him, $1,000, 
and that he did not expect to bring his contribution up 
beyond $500, " which," he wrote, "I presume will be 
nearer the sum against my name than any other subscriber 
comes." u My personal sacrifices," he continued, "for 
Antioch College are already far beyond my means. My 
connection with the institution will, I fear, cost me the 
large part of $5, 000 before all is over. I still hope some- 
thing may be done to avert ruin, but the hand of Provi- 
dence must show itself soon if Antioch is to remain 
in our hands." 

Not long afterwards Dr. Bellows again wrote Dr. Craig 
this characteristic letter : 



228 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

4 ' New York, May 17, 1859. 
"My dear Craig: 

"It is always good for my eyes to see your handwriting ! 
The round loops of your careful chirograph y give me glimpses 
into the land of Beulah, the region of peace and joy. 

" I wish we could see each other oftener, and face to face, 
although there are some friendships that are independent of 
these opportunities of renewal, as there are some metals that 
do not rust. We take some of our friends, as we do our wives, 
< for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, ' without adding 
until 'death us do part' ; because we know that Death will 
only bring closer together those who love each other in the 
Lord. I hope our friendship has the seal of Christ attached to 
it, and is a bond that distance cannot weaken, nor absence 
efface. 

" I accept your congratulations about Antioch. God alone 
knows how much anxiety, thought, labour that college has 
cost me ! If it now subserves the sacred interests to which it 
is pledged, I shall be a thousand times rewarded. There are 
still local difficulties to be overcome. Mr. Palmer has not 
been a willing sacrifice, and he does not freely resign his hope 
to recover something from the various local endorsers on the 
paper of the old institution. I wish he could be made to see 
how he would serve his own character and honour, by doing 
cleanly and wholly, this act of mercy and charity. If you 
have any influence with him in this direction, please use it. 

" When you next come to New York, you shall have the run 
of my books and take what you like. I believe I have 
Palfray — if not lent and lost, but I cannot to-day lay hands on 
it. Bunsen's ' Egypt ' I have not. Anything I have, you can 
borrow, if you will come and look for yourself among my most 
miscellaneous shelves. 

" Give my kindest regards to your wife. Mrs. Bellows is at 
Eagleswood or she would join me. I wish you could go on to 
our anniversary exercises in Boston next week and see what we 
are all about. It would do you good. You would have to 
leave early Monday and take the boat that night — for Tuesday 
is the high day. Do go ! I have read your defense of Antioch. 
It is triumphant. Also your articles in Gospel Herald. What 
an improved paper ! I rejoice. God be with you. 
"Always affectionately yours, 

"H. W. Bellows." 



ANTIOCH UNDEK CONSIDERATION 229 

In 1862, wearied by the failures to provide funds and 
the generally unsatisfactory condition of affairs, Dr. Hill 
resigned, and returned to Boston. The power and effec- 
tiveness of the man were later even more fully shown in 
his presidency of Harvard, running from 1862 to 1868. 

Though Dr. Craig had been chosen president, as noted, 
he could with great difficulty bring himself to believe 
that he should become the active head of the institution. 
The situation, and somewhat his state of mind, is in- 
dicated in the following letter, written to Dr. Bellows in 
August, 1862 : 

"Ever since I knew you, I have loved and trusted you. I 
can speak frankly to you because I have no fear that you will 
understand me in any narrow or ungenerous way. I wish 
you, and those friends of Antioch College who came to its aid 
under your leadership, to think of me as cherishing no aim 
with respect to Antioch which our common Lord could not ap- 
prove. I am undecided whether to accept the presidency or 
to decline it. If my ' Christian ' brethren will heartily unite 
to love and help the college, and will give proof thereof by 
making all these bona fide, fully-paid scholarship-bonds good 
again ; and by making a reasonable provision for the future of 
the college, I would feel greatly inclined to enter their service 
if that ' unanimous will and vote of the Board ' of which you 
wrote me, should appear to be also the nearly unanimous will 
of the ' Christian ' brotherhood. 

"I fully agree with you in the expression of opinion with 
which your letter closes. You may not recall it all, I transcribe 
it here just as I read it in your letter : 

" ' It seems to me that if you should devote yourself to rally- 
ing the Christian connexion about Antioch, — appealing to their 
pride and their duty, — you might raise an endowment ; and 
then, calling about you such professors as you could trust, you 
might keep up the standard of education already raised there and 
make the college a great blessing to your body and to the West.' 

" You have said just what ought to be done. Perhaps I 
would make one exception (it seems almost hypercritical to 
make it) — I would appeal to the ' duty ' of my brethren first 
and their ' pride ' afterwards, if at all. 



230 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

" Heretofore you and your associates have contributed 
generously for Antioch, and now we * Christians ' ought to 
bear our burdens. If we succeed, I hope a large share of the 
joy may be yours. Brother Bellows, you have done too much 
for Antioch heretofore, to permit you to become indifferent to 
her welfare. I believe that your ' best wishes and heartiest 
prayers will be with us in such an undertaking ' as you have 
commended to me. As I think of your generous aid to Antioch 
in former days, I grow bolder to speak what is in my heart. 
The Lord remembers and rewards all faithful deeds : Be that 
your comfort ! But you and your friends have done too much 
for Antioch, not to do more. I speak my own thought, to be 
sure, but I want you, and they, to be ready a year hence to 
endow, say, a Channing Professor of Rhetoric for Antioch 
College and to get your friend (mine, too, I hope he is), the 
Rev. A. D. Mayo, of Albany, to accept it." 

It was at Schuyler's Lake, New York, where he had 
gone on a vacation from his pastoral charge in Blooming 
Grove, Dr. Craig received in July, 1862, the formal an- 
nouncement of his election to the presidency of Antioch. 
In a copy of a letter to the secretary of the board of 
trustees made in Dr. Craig's own handwriting, acknowl- 
edging the receipt of the formal announcement, there is a 
significant illustration of his determination not to say 
anything which could be construed as harsh. He had 
first written and then crossed out by two bold strokes the 
following, his own unquestioned belief : it has a special 
significance to-day : 

''Consecrated money is a powerful instrumentality of the 
kingdom of God. As for dirty money, ' the price of blood,' 
or even ' the price of a dog ' — I would reject that from the 
treasury of Antioch College ; even as it would have been re- 
jected from the treasury of the Jewish temple." 

In concluding his letter which dealt somewhat with 
the plans for the financial restoration of the college, he 
said: 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 231 

"It seems to me that it would be a question of Will only, 
not of Ability. Now that Antioch is down, I earnestly hope 
that we may go down, — down with her until we find the very 
granite of God's righteousness, and, laying the foundations of 
Antioch' s future upon that, humbly and faithfully build in 
Christ's name that which can never be shaken." 



Letters to different people written at this time by 
Dr. Craig show not only the difficulty he found in reach- 
ing a decision but also his shrewd and keen grasp of the 
situation. Had he not been a religious teacher and an 
educator, he could have been a diplomatist in the nobler 
sense ; a statesman. In a letter to I. C. Goff in the same 
month in which he received notice of his election he 
wrote : 



" I incline to say that I cannot listen to the call of the 
trustees of Antioch College, unless (i) the Christians of the 
West, — of Ohio, especially, should generally and heartily sanc- 
tion that call ; and not even then, unless (2) adequate means 
should be secured for fulfilling the contracts originally made in 
the name of ' Antioch College,' with those who bought — and 
who paid in full for scholarships. 

" I could have hoped that the blessing of God would rest on 
Antioch College, — and I could work heartily in her service if 
the brethren who once loved her, would unite to remove from 
her the dishonour and wrong of those repudiated scholarships. 
Putting out of view all personal relations that I might sustain 
to the college, I do wish that the brotherhood would be stirred 
up now to right those wrongs of the past, even if they should 
determine immediately to abandon Antioch forever. But, such 
an act of repentance and justice would reunite a thousand 
broken bonds of love, and would bring hundreds of pupils to 
Antioch from our own midst — so I believe." 



His scrupulous adherence to fairness is shown in the 
following extract from a letter written while at Schuyler's 
Lake to Dr. Hill. 



232 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"I greatly desire to know," Dr. Craig writes, "whether, in 
your judgment, the transactions connected with the reception 
of your resignation (as president of Antioch) and with ray elec- 
tion were fair and honourable. Was there anything like con- 
spiracy or intrigue ? Do the Unitarians feel that any unfair 
advantage was taken of them, by the * Christians ' ? Have 
the Unitarians lost their interest in the college, as it now 
stands ? Could their future cooperation with the ' Christians ' 
in sustaining the institution be expected if the administration 
of its affairs should be faithful and honourable ? Or, if not, 
why not ? 

"I will not ask you to give me answers in detail to these 
questions. My object is rather to get your general view of the 
transaction on which the college passed, apparently, from the 
immediate direction and care of the Unitarians, into the hands 
of the 'Christians.' I would esteem it a favour to have you 
write me such an account of these matters as you might wish 
to get from me, were I in your place, and you in mine. Your 
answer shall be treated confidentially if you so desire it. 

"If it shall appear that all was right as concerned your 
resignation and my election ; if, further, I should be ' effectually 
called ' to the post which, as I am informed, the trustees of the 
college have unanimously voted to offer me, it would be my 
hearty wish that the administration of the college might be 
worthy of confidence and love from the Unitarian brethren. 
Although I am not a Unitarian in name, perhaps not even in 
theology, still, could we not work together for < Christ and the 
Church ' ? We could, I am sure, if we would put from us 
every aim which our unsectarian Lord Jesus would judge un- 
worthy of His best disciple." 



To another friend he wrote a month after receiving the 
call, while still in the midst of doubts and misgivings as 
to what part his own denomination would take in the re- 
generation of the college : 



"Before I could accept this post whole-heartedly I must see 
a general revival of interest in the college, among its original 
friends. This interest should take practical form in (i) mak- 
ing right the past, by henceforth doing what the scholarship- 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 233 

bonds pledged the faith of Antioch College to perform ; (2) in 
making sure the future, by endowment, or otherwise. 

" These things done, — or reasonably sure to be done, — and the 
action of the trustees cordially sanctioned by my * Christian ' 
brethren, I might see a door of duty opening for me at Antioch 
College." 

In showing how the college could be put on its feet by 
the denomination he said, referring to the scholarship- 
bonds which should be made good : 

"That would be right,— would be righteousness. And I 
trust it would go far towards making God favourable to the 
college, and towards recovering the alienated affections of 
many of our brethren." 

The breadth of the man and his interest in the institu- 
tion from the standpoint of scholarship are again and 
again shown in the mass of correspondence regarding the 
college. These were among the suggestions which he 
made writing to a friend in August, 1862 : 

"That there be added to the corps of instructors of 
Antioch College a professor of the Biblical Languages and 
Literature, to give lessons, to such as choose to take 
them, in the Hebrew language and in New Testament 
Greek : with such accompanying instruction in Biblical 
Antiquities, Hebrew Poetry, etc., as shall acknowledge 
the Bible to be (at least) one of the world's great classics ; 
and provide for its study, just as provision is made for 
the critical study of Homer and Virgil. If it would turn 
Antioch into a Geological school, merely to study the 
Bible as a classic in its original, is it not making Antioch 
a m^ological school to study Homer in the same way ! " 

"What I propose," Dr. Craig interjects in discussing or 
elaborating the point, "is, not to establish a professorship of 
Theology, but to furnish opportunity for those students who 



234 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

wish to read in the originals the chief classics of the world, to 
do so : giving them exactly the same kind of helps and aids in 
studying the hallowed muse of Isaiah that the ordinary pro- 
fessor of Greek gives for studying ' the blind old bard of 
Scio's rocky isle.' 

" This is only making the Bible one of our school-books. 
Now, if the professor of Greek should spend his time with the 
Homer-class in quoting Homeric passages and founding 
reasonings thereon, to establish the minds of his pupils in the 
belief that Homer teaches the doctrine of the Calvinistic 
Theology, or of Unitarianism, or the like, I should say that he 
had better bestow his labour in aiding his pupils to master the 
language in which Homer's thoughts are preserved, to point 
them to such historic sources of illustration as will the better 
enable them to comprehend the Homeric writings in their rela- 
tion to the age which they express ; and then leave the pupils 
to form their own opinion of Homer's view of this or that sub- 
ject, from their own studies and meditations. 

"Surely, it is not technically teaching theology to give 
scientific instructions in the original languages of the Scriptures, 
accompanied with such illustrations from Antiquities, Biblical 
Geography, etc., as may enable the pupil to study intelligently 
the best product of Mind — the noblest classic in the world? " 

His other suggestion follows : 

The feasibility of calling upon the ministers of the 
Christian denomination to endow such a professorship. 

It was characteristic of the man never to lose sight of a 
chance to interest others in the high and noble affairs to 
which he gave his life. He knew that if the ministers of 
the denomination contributed to the maintenance of such 
a professorship out of their own pockets they would be- 
come thereby more vitally interested in it. 

The year following the receipt of the call to Antioch, 
in April, 1863, Dr. Craig, unremitting in his endeavour 
to help the college to regain its feet, issued an appeal, 
following a request of the Quadrennial Convention sup- 
plementary to the former conference appeal and 
published in the Herald of Gospel Liberty. He now 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 235 

proposed a plan for saving Antioch by tuition and en- 
dowment, clearly setting forth how this could be done 
by the Christian denomination without cramping or 
pinching anybody. He appealed with all earnestness to 
his people, though he must have felt in his heart it 
would be in vain. As he pointed to the possible closing 
of the college, he said : 

" What a place of Disappointments, Griefs, Tears, that 
Antioch has been to many ! Our whole people might ' call the 
name of that place Bochim I ' What a schooling we have had 
there ! How proud and foolish we were at first ; building our 
1 Great Antioch ' with brick for stone, and self-conceit for 
mortar ! How kind God was to us, causing us at the first to 
stumble upon the very principles of Christ's kingdom, in our 
unskilled notions of what a college should be ; and, sending us 
for banner-bearer, Horace Mann ! How he made us all hope 
great things for Antioch ! How he filled those youths and 
maidens with his own enthusiasm for Truth and Right, — for 
Man and God ! Those halls, those grounds, those fellowships, 
those tones of music, those prayers, — it does seem to many that 
something bright from heaven came very near to earth, there at 
Antioch I Ah ! what perfume of old memories fills those halls 
and that chapel, like incense of the sanctuary. Priceless pos- 
session ! 

"The one and only work of our whole people hitherto, 
was — is — 'Antioch College.' Not more our geographical 
centre, than the pivot of our Unity. Let go that, and we 
disintegrate ! I mused so once, while meditating that noble 
structure which so many loved. The names of the brethren 
who built, began to fade out ; for it was eventide, and long 
and dark were the shadows which fell from the towers. I 
thought we grew shadowy too ! Was it the falling dew in 
the air, — or, on my eyelids, that made me so strangely mis- 
read that great name, Antioch, up there? How could it 
so shape itself into Ichabod ! And was my ear, too, pos- 
sessed ? Never before did I hear that bell clang out ' Tekel ! ' 
'Tekel! !' 'Tekel! ! !' 

Two years passed by, after Dr. Craig finally accepted 



236 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

the presidency of the college, before any definite steps 
could be taken to put the institution upon its feet. Dur- 
ing this time, the closing years of the war of the re- 
bellion, college activities were suspended. 

Writing in January, 1864, to the Eev. Eli Fay, of 
Woburn, Massachusetts, a leading Unitarian minister 
and a member of the Antioch Board of Trustees, Dr. 
Craig says : 



"For some time past the conviction has forced itself upon 
me that our ' Christian ' brethren will do nothing effectual 
for Antioch. I no longer think of myself as, even in name, 
president of the college. I have much reason to feel sorry 
that I have allowed myself so long to be possessed by the 
unsettled, half-and-half feeling of relationship to Antioch, 
which I now see has done no good to the college, while it 
has hindered my work and usefulness here. (Blooming 
Grove. ) 1 began the New Year with the feeling that I ought 
to tend my flock better and let nominal presidencies cease to 
hinder my proper work. I have said this to no one but you 
(besides my wife). Let it remain private for a while. I say 
it to you that you may no longer think of me as president 
prospective. ' ' 

Making note of an anticipated consultation between 
them on Antioch, Dr. Craig gives these directions for 
communication which suggest the status of the tele- 
graph even in the state of New York, but forty years 
ago: 

" In that case let me have a word from you by telegraph : 
unless you are reasonably sure that your letter could reach 
me by Tuesday next. (19th.) (Dr. Craig's letter was dated 
the 1 2th at Blooming Grove, Dr. Fay being as noted, in 
Woburn.) The N. Y. & Erie R. R. Company (Erie Rail- 
way's Telegraph) have a telegraph office at Washingtonville, 
near my house. The despatch may come to Newburg from 
Albany : but probably the better way would be to send it to 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 237 

N. Y. City, where it would immediately be passed over to 
the operator of N. Y. & Erie R. R. Telegraph." 

Extracts from two letters by Dr. Craig to his wife 
written in January, 1864, from Boston, give interesting 
side-lights on some of the men with whom he was work- 
ing for Antioch. 

" I reached Boston about nine-thirty o'clock, this morn- 
ing. Walked to the rooms of the American Unitarian Associa- 
tion. Found there, Rev. Dr. Stebbins, with whom I had 
some pleasant talk. Mr. Fay came in an hour after my ar- 
rival — was very glad to see me. Had given me up. He took 
me first to Rev. E. E. Hale's house. It was he who put 
Mr. Fay upon demanding my coming hither. Hale is a 
tall, slim, wiry man, with a big bushy head, and a look of 
capacity and goodness. He welcomed us cordially. Fay 
says that Hale is the greatest worker in Boston. We went 
soon then to a Rev. Mr. Tilden's house and took dinner. 
Tilden was a neighbouring minister to Fay a year or two. 
We then walked to Dr. Gannett's door, but learned that he 
was 'out.' We may see him at the ministers' meeting this 
evening. To-morrow there is some sort of gathering of 
ministers here, and Fay thinks my coming is most opportune. 

"Fay is out now working away on a man from whom he 
expects a * Professorship. ' He thinks he has two secured, 
and he has succeeded in interesting the leading ministers here 
very much, and is hopeful of five professorships. 

"By Saturday night, he says, we shall know Antioch's 
fate. I hope to be home by Saturday evening ; but if I 
see that my stay here is really worth while, I may stay 
over Sunday. To-morrow I hope I shall know ; and the next 
mail after that by which this comes to you, will bring you 
another to tell whether I can come this week or not. We 
expect to see President Hill, Dr. Gannett, and several 
others. 

" I am called up now to greet friends." 



"I have been sitting here at a desk in the ' Unitarian 
Rooms,' — rear of Walker and Wise's bookstore, 245 Washing- 



238 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

ton St., — an hour or two, reading, writing, waiting. Mr. Fay 
runs out and returns. Rev. E. E. Hale runs out, comes 
in, and reports to Mr. Fay. We are awaiting here the ar- 
rival of Rev. James Freeman Clarke, whom we went out 
to Jamaica Plains (five miles from Boston) yesterday to visit, 
but found absent from home. We called on Josiah Quincy, Jr., 
yesterday, on Rev. Mr. Hale once, — and a place or two I 
forget. We went into Dr. Gannett's church — the most 
costly and beautiful church in Boston. The inside is Greek 
beauty. 

" (3 p. m.) I have just seen Rev. James Freeman Clarke, 
who came to these Rooms. Mr. Fay has been talking with 
him of Antioch. Mr. Fay is confident that he shall succeed. 
— I stay to help, if possible. Rev. E. E. Hale is working for 
Antioch this week, and it will satisfy (perhaps gratify) him 
and the others, if I stay over Sunday. 

"Last evening we went to the 'Boston Museum' to see 
Tom Taylor's 'Great Moral Drama,' 'The Ticket of Leave 
Man.' " 

In passing, one may not fail to suggest the intimate 
personal note in some of Dr. Craig's letters. Writing 
in midsummer, 1864, from Blooming Grove to Dr. Fay, 
lie says : 

" I am sorry to learn from yours of July 30th that you have 
not been very well since your return from Yellow Springs. 
It does not seem to me strange. For I think you allow your- 
self too little relaxation, recreation, vacation. Mr. Orton is 
another such intense, unrelenting worker, who, much to his 
surprise — as he is wise and careful in all the physical (animal) 
economies except rest-taking — was taken ill a month ago, and 
barely escaped with his life. He begins to walk a little now ; 
and may be able to work again, after making up several 
more weeks of his arrearages of resting-time. He had been 
preaching for me during several Sundays of my recent ab- 
sence ; gave the five school-days to his classes laboriously, 
as is his wont ; prepared his sermon on Saturday ; and rode 
and returned a dozen miles to preach on Sundays : depriving 
himself thereby of Sabbath — of rest time — for several weeks 
in succession. I hold up his fate before you, to deter you. 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 239 

Your health-guardian has been away from you much this 
summer ; and you have been misbehaving yourself shockingly : 
as your thin visage and loose waistband telltale. Look out, 
brother Fay ; Typhoid Fever or Dysentery may spring upon 
you (or me) suddenly some day. You had better come right 
away from that Wo — Wo — (what's the name of the place ?) 
Come right to Blooming Grove, you and Mrs. Fay, and let us 
fat you up. My wife says so. This is real country here. 
We have the best of cows' milk, and bread made from fresh- 
ground wheat raised by my father (and he prides himself 
on his wheat-fields) ; and butter, such as Orange County 
can produce, and blackberries grown in our garden, and 
pure grape- wine — if you need it. Come. ' Come just now ! ' 
You know the way. Do come, won't you ? " 



While Dr. Craig recognized and was sharply grieved 
over the apathy of those of his own denomination, and 
while his own generous nature could not but respond to 
the cordial and unaffected interest of the Unitarian de- 
nomination, he yet must needs be absolutely fair to both. 
He had long placed great confidence in Dr. Hill, already 
referred to, and set much store on his judgment. The 
following letter illustrates Dr. Craig' s absolute impartial- 
ity and his desire to maintain Antioch as a beacon-light 
of a free, untrammelled faith : 

"Blooming Grove, N. K, August 22 > 1864. 
" Dear Brother Hill : 

" Let me trouble you with my burden. For there is no 
one to whom, I suppose, I can more fitly speak. 

" I would not go to Antioch if it was to be narrowed by 
denominational aims. I told my ' Christian ' brethren so. 
Told them that I could have no heart to undertake the 
presidency unless I might do it in the interests of the Christian 
Church, not the ' Christian ' denomination. It rejoiced me 
to think that they, the ' Christians,' were ready to unite 
with your friends, called ' Unitarians, ' to make Antioch free 
from denominational aims, and devoted to Christ and Chris- 
tianity. That is what I understood you, and our ( Unitarian ' 



240 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

associates in the board of trustees, to mean. My chief attrac- 
tion to the place which has been offered me at Antioch was 
the prospect that I might be able to help the ' Christians ' and 
the 'Unitarians,' — whom Antioch now interests, — to become 
cordial helpers each to the other in a great and good work of 
the Lord. But, if Antioch is to be made denominationally 
Unitarian, I can have no heart to serve it. 

" Why do I say this? Because I have read in the Unitarian 
papers appeals in behalf of Antioch which appear to assume 
that Antioch is to be made exclusively Unitarian. Take, for 
instance, this sentence from the Christian Register of August 
20th — (Efforts in Behalf of Institutions of Learning) — 

" 'The Unitarians would not dare to call Harvard or Wash- 
ington University their own, after all their fostering care, for 
fear of offending somebody. But they may make Antioch 
College theirs if they will.' 

" Brother Hill, is that, think you, what our 'Unitarian' 
brethren mean in undertaking to raise money for Antioch — to 
make it ' their own ' ? Dear brother, I hoped and believed 
that we (the trustees) meant to ignore denominational aims 
altogether, and that we would unitedly and mutually try to 
make Antioch a Christian college, but neither ' Christian,' nor 
'Unitarian.' I wish it to be such that my ' Christian' breth- 
ren can feel that they have rights there (are not there by the 
grace of others), such that they can patronize it, contribute to 
its endowment funds, and feel joy in its success. 

" But I am sure that none of this can be, if the idea of our 
Unitarian friends is to make the college ' theirs.' I understood 
that the college was to be yours and ours, in the unity of an 
undenominational purpose to promote the glory of our Common 
Lord. And that, I believe, is what you mean. But if the 
Unitarian trustees want something different from that — mean 
to make the college denominationally their own, it is but 
fair they should know that I have no interest in any such 
purpose." 

And yet all the time, apparently, the conviction was 
forcing itself upon Dr. Craig that duty lay in the direc- 
tion of Antioch. To one who loved nature, the chance 
to study, the quiet of a country place, congenial work, a 
steadily widening opportunity to reach the world through 



ANTIOCH UNDER CONSIDERATION 241 

the medium of his pen, — to such an one it was an act of 
supreme self-denial to give up all this and enter upon the 
ceaseless care and grind of an official position. But once 
the door of duty opened, he was swift to enter. 



XIII 

ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 



I 



"^ HE time had now come for definite action and 
Dr. Craig brought matters to a focus by an ex- 
haustive paper in answer to the question : 
" Antioch College,— Whose is it ? " 

Such persistent efforts on the part of the enemies of 
Antioch in public and private to sow discontent had so 
loDg prevailed, — and this, too, as it appears, largely by 
members of the Christian denomination, taking particular 
form at that period in an effort to prove Antioch hetero- 
dox, — that Dr. Craig felt it imperative this question 
should be formally raised and publicly answered. 

In May, 1864, he had a paper on the subject in hand. 
He wrote to the editor of the Herald of Gospel Liberty 
proposing the paper for publication. In return the editor 
asked Dr. Craig if he would not be willing to suspend the 
publication of the paper— which had now come to him — 
until the editor should see Dr. Craig in Fall Eiver, 
Massachusetts, and "talk the matter over." 

In all Dr. Craig's make-up no one ever found any trace 
of the trimmer. He was not open to every wind that 
blew. He was not outspoken where only anger would 
thereby be provoked and no good accomplished, but, 
ever wisely gauging the situation, without yielding an 
inch to influences he did not approve of, he spoke the 
right word in the right place, at the right time. Should 
the word hurt, he would be pained more deeply than the 

242 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 243 

one who suffered it; but, if it were a just and needful 
word, he would nevertheless speak it. He could not do 
anything in the dark, so he wrote to the editor : 

' ' If, after due reflection, you think it best to withdraw the 
article from your readers, do so freely : I shall at least acqui- 
esce cheerfully, even if I should at times still think, that, on 
the whole, and in the long run, the candid statement of a disa- 
greeable truth is better than misleading silence or politic sup- 
pressions. This may seem strong language, and may possibly 
seem unkind to say, but don't take it as my judgment con- 
cerning your view of the matter. I only mean to put my own 
view before you of what is best for me to say. I do not wish 
any concealment in the matter. I think there has been too 
much, far too much. I do not sympathize with the wish to 
make Antioch a ' strictly denominational ' college. (Pardon 
me, I do not use the phrase here for offense to your feelings, 
but to designate the thing.) Moreover, if the New England 
brethren should endow a professorship in Antioch under the 
impression that Antioch is ' ours,' will not the revulsion of feel- 
ing when the real state of Antioch' s condition and ownership 
becomes known to them, alienate them from the college, and 
alienate them from us whom they may then deem agents, — or 
at least permitters — of their deception ? 

" I hope you will understand my aim in this matter. I seem 
to myself a sort of representative of the Christian connexion in 
my present ' elect ' relations to Antioch. I certainly wish our 
brethren to endow Antioch ; because they need it so much. 
But they will not sufficiently endow it for many years. Some 
of our influential brethren in the West are bigots, — I think. 
The financial management of Antioch is safer, I think, with 
the eight Unitarian trustees in the Board ; and as to their idea 
of what a college should be, and their wish concerning Antioch, 
I must in truth say that I could confide in them more fully than 
in some of our own trustees. 

" But this is nothing to our purpose. My idea is neither 
needlessly to offend the denominational prejudices and sensi- 
tiveness, nor to bow down to them as if I held them in any re- 
spect. I consider them as corns and bunions not to be trodden 
on but to be shaved close and rooted out as soon as possible. 

"I am afraid of concealment. I think it best to let the 
brethren see, — see all and see the worst. 



244 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

" Still, if you think it best, do not publish my article. Yet, 
I wish you would bear me witness, if ever occasion should re- 
quire, that I sought to set the matter before the brethren with- 
out reserve." 

This letter was written May 6th j in the issue of 
the publication for Thursday, May 12th, the article ap- 
peared, covering an entire page, fully five thousand 
words, without a line of space thrown away. There was 
no other answer to his letter to the editor but prompt 
publication of the paper. 

The article clearly and dispassionately traced the course 
of Antioch events. He divided the subject up into thirty 
questions and answers, and when he had finished it was 
as though a clear sunburst had come across the path of 
Antioch. The exact status of the college was pointed 
out. The fogs lifted. Under the reorganization which 
had been effected after the failure of the institution to 
liquidate its indebtedness and the consequent receiver- 
ship, Antioch, in Dr. Craig's answer to the question in 
the general caption, was not "ours," the Christian de- 
nomination's, in the exclusive, strictly denominational 
sense. All of the faultfinding and bickering over Uni- 
tarian interference was put to rest, or should have been 
put to rest, by Dr. Craig's summing up : 

"I am informed," he said, "that two years ago, the Uni- 
tarian Trustees said to ours that if we would take the college 
and endow and man it respectably, they would in effect — if not 
absolutely — withdraw from all control, and give the institution 
wholly up to us. But I was not then in the Board, and there- 
fore can state this only as an impression received from others 
who heard the offer made. On one point I have no doubt : 
namely, that, without the cooperation and pecuniary help of 
those whom the Eight Unitarian Trustees represent, in that 
dark hour when our financial mismanagement had brought 
Antioch to ruin ; we would not now be able to say of Antioch, 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 245 

in any sense whatever, that it is ours. — I for one, have never 
been sorry that Antioch found other friends besides ourselves, — 
friends who proved their affection for the college by giving large 
sums of money to its needy treasury. May both they and we 
thus befriend the college, again and again. 

"We may withdraw; but Antioch will still live. It has 
friends, willing and able. In time, they may endow it richly. 
It will be * Antioch College' in name, and, — adhering to the 
principles embodied in its Constitution, — it will be ' Antioch ' 
in spirit and character." 



In the following issue of the same journal Rev. J. B. 
Weston, one of the trustees of the college in the Christian 
branch and professor of Greek in the college as well, 
issued a personal note in which he, too, appealed to the 
denomination to come to the support, indeed the succour, 
of the college. He showed very plainly there were men 
in the denomination individually able to provide the en- 
tire amount of money needed. He had done a vast 
amount of personal work to save the college, but he, too, 
had reached his limit; — as he put it: "I feel that I 
should be committing the sin of voluntary suicide, with 
no hope of any good result, if I should attempt to con- 
tinue longer to do as I have done for the past two years. 
If we have any faith in the kingdom of God and in the 
enlightenment of men ; if we believe that God has a 
mission for us and that we are His servants ; let us hear 
the decisive responses at once ; if not, let us profess less 
until we can practice more." 

But matters did not shape themselves favourably, which 
is another way of saying that general apathy came hard 
by the point of putting Antioch to death. It became ap- 
parent to Dr. Craig that it was best that he should no 
longer retain the nominal presidency of the college. In 
June, 1864, he wrote a letter to the members of the Chris- 
tian denomination as follows : 



246 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

" Dear Friends : 

" I think it best to resign the presidency of Antioch Col- 
lege, to which I was elected nearly two years ago. The act of 
resigning may be deferred until the next annual meeting of the 
Board of Trustees, on Tuesday, the 28th of June: but I 
now give notice of my intention to resign. My reasons are 
these : 

" (1) If you, at the approaching trustee meeting, should be 
ready to so endow the college, that it may be opened next 
autumn with a full faculty, you ought to have opportunity of 
filling the chairs without impediment. It was conditioned by 
your trustees, at my election, that my office should, for a year 
at least, be * without salary,' with 'leave of absence.' That 
was the election of a 'nominal' president. When you come 
with your endowment fund ready to put the college into full 
operation, you will need a real president. And you may want 
such a president as I can never be. You may wish to make 
' Antioch ' a denominational school, and to choose a president 
thereof who would administer it as such. My resignation 
leaves your choice, in the case supposed, entirely free. 

" (2) If, however, you shall come to the approaching 
trustee meeting with endowment funds with negotiable pledges 
little more or no more than enough to endow the presidency, 
leaving the other needful chairs dependent upon vague expec- 
tations or insecure promises, in that case, my resignation now 
only anticipates by one short month the act inevitable then, 

" (3) If, finally, the efforts of our churches to endow 
Antioch shall prove practically a failure, and the ' Christian ' 
trustees shall thereby be moved to offer to the ' Unitarian ' 
trustees substantially the same opportunity of endowing and 
manning the college that they two years ago offered to us ; 
then, of course, I ought to resign ; for if the Unitarian trustees 
are to pay the salaries of the Antioch teachers, it is only reason- 
able that they should elect those teachers. In any supposable 
case, therefore, it seems proper for me to resign. 

" The business portion of this letter ends here; but I would 
add a few words to tell you, Christian brethren, how highly I 
appreciate the mark of confidence, which your representatives 
in the Board of Trustees bestowed, in electing me the succes- 
sor of men whose shoes, indeed, I am not worthy to bear. 
Let me also allude to the great pleasure and benefit enjoyed by 
me in correspondence, intercourse, cooperation — for the sake of 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 247 

Antioch — with many brethren unknown to me before, whom 
now I know to esteem and love. 

" 'Antioch/ with all its disappointments and griefs, has been 
a bond of love to many hearts. Even within these last two 
years, when at times it seemed to me not unlikely that we would 
fully endow, and thus revive the Antioch of former days, I have 
gladdened at the thought that we might yet, by the blessing of 
God, retrieve the mistakes and errors of the past ; recover the 
lost confidence of many ; win back the love of alienated 
brethren ; and, by faithfulness and generosity, lay enduring 
foundations for the future prosperity and usefulness of Antioch 
College. 

"To become a worker with you for healing the division in 
the church at Yellow Springs, whose misfortune it once was to 
be too closely linked to Antioch; to aid in recovering to 
Antioch multitudes of former friends who, by our mismanage- 
ment, were deprived of ' Scholarship ' rights, for which they 
had paid in full according to our own terms, and which we 
could — by ample endowment of the college — fully restore to 
them ; to be a witness and cherisher of that mutual confidence 
and cooperative disposition by which the two bodies of 
Antioch's friends and owners might mutually benefit each other, 
while advancing their college to eminence for the honour of 
Christ, and the welfare of mankind ; these were objects, 
brethren, for which, at your hearty call and by your abundant 
help, I could have laid aside my sense of insufficiency, and 
could have counted it a joy to have served you and Antioch for 
a season. 

"The orator of the 'Union Literary Society of Antioch 
College/ at the close of his noble address last year, spoke of 
Antioch as ' the strongest, broadest, and most truly popular in- 
stitution in the land, which we should not let die.' Through 
all the uncertainties and discouragements which, for the few 
years past, have sorely tried the friends of Antioch, many of 
those friends have been able to hold fast the hope of Antioch's 
final and full triumph ; because they intelligently believed that 
such a college as Antioch in idea was, — and in realization was fast 
coming to be, — is just the institution that in these days the pre- 
cious interests of the Nation and the Church profoundly need. 
What but such a faith as this, could nerve the treasurer of 
Antioch College sitting — after two years of disappointed ex- 
pectations — by his moneyless chest, to write (as in a letter re- 



248 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

ceived this very day he writes).. « I still hope that God will open 
a way for us, at or before Commencement.' 

" In thus announcing my resignation, I do not resign my 
hearty interest in the college, nor my cherished hope that an 
honourable and useful career still awaits it. Nor do I resign 
the hope, dear brethren, that, though our late undertakings for 
Antioch may not be the success we anticipate, we shall yet hold 
fast our love for our first-born, and be ready in future oppor- 
tunities to do for the college what we can. 

"Austin Craig. 

"Blooming Grove, N. Y., May 24, 1864" 

The inevitable end now came. All efforts to resuscitate 
the college by appeals to the Christian denomination 
being unavailing, the American Unitarian Association, 
in December, 1864, at a meeting held in Boston, — "an 
ever memorable meeting to the friends of Antioch Col- 
lege," as Dr. Edward Everett Hale calls it in another 
place in this volume, — voted that it would raise one hun- 
dred thousand dollars for the endowment of the college. 
This was with the proviso that the institution should be 
placed in the hands of a new corporation. The money- 
was collected, the corporation was effected, and Antioch 
entered upon a new lease of life. 

Plans were already under way for the founding of the 
Christian Biblical Institute, which is more fully treated 
in later chapters. Of this institution, when established, 
Dr. Craig was to be, as he did become, the first president. 

A new head for Antioch was needed at once. It was 
the earnest hope of the trustees that General, afterwards 
President, Garfield, a member of the Christian denomina- 
tion, should be the new president of Antioch. Dr. Craig 
carried on the correspondence with General Garfield, but 
the effort to secure him failed. Strong hopes were then 
entertained that John A. Andrew, the War Governor of 
Massachusetts, would accept the place. In a letter to 
Edward Everett Hale, written from Blooming Grove, 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 249 

Dr. Craig, who had agreed to accept a professorship 
temporarily at Antioch, noted the coming of Governor 
Andrew (mentioned as assured in a former letter to Dr. 
Craig from Dr. Hale), and asked Dr. Hale, as he was in 
a position of responsibility in the new corporation, for a 
letter of instructions. In resuming his position as one of 
the professors of Antioch, Dr. Craig had been asked to 
take charge of the college pending Governor Andrew's 
arrival. "Won't you say a word to me," he wrote to 
Dr. Hale, — " you know you may say anything to me in 
all confidence — in regard to possible arrangements, 
mutually agreeable, it may be, both to the college and to 
the ' Christian ' church in the town ? I would not seek 
any ' entangling alliances,' yet it would be well 
(would it not 1 ?) to pursue a thoroughly kind and 
conciliatory policy with regard to that church. Please 
make any suggestions you think best in relation to 
this." 

On August 17, 1865, a communication was addressed to 
the executive committee of the college, signed by Rev. 
H. W. Bellows, Edward Everett Hale, and E. W. 
Clark ; the committee appointed to make selection of a 
president, reporting the progress made. It was shown in 
the report that Governor Andrew had the matter under 
consideration and that he would in all probability accept. 
Governor Andrew was one of the distinguished figures of 
Massachusetts. 

"He is," the report set forth, "a man of large and 
tried experience, yet in the prime of life ; with public 
talents and private character of the choicest description ; 
equally beloved and respected ; a statesman, philanthro- 
pist, and gentleman ; profoundly religious yet a layman ; 
the chosen head of the late national conference of the 
Unitarians, possessing their entire confidence, and yet 
without a sectarian name or the least distrust of other 



250 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

religious bodies ; with an immense prestige as a patriot 
over the whole nation ; a profound lover of good learning 
without academic prudery or antiquated prejudices of a 
scholastic sort. ... A close friend of Horace Mann, 
he would preserve all that was valuable in his regime ; 
the nearest adviser of President Hill, he would carry all 
that was enlightened in his policy back to his old chair 
and, beyond these, add the momentum of his earnest, 
large and generous nature, his rich and warm ex- 
perience. " 

But though at Dr. Hale' s request, Dr. Craig hurried to 
Antioch with all haste to prepare the way for Governor 
Andrew, they were all to be disappointed, for he declined 
at last the presidency. It was plainly imperative that a 
man of large powers and ample attainments be chosen to 
lead the college at this critical hour, and the board of 
trustees turned to Dr. Craig even though his aid be but 
temporary. With the understandiDg that it was to be 
only temporary, Dr. Craig accepted the presidency of 
Antioch, unanimously offered him by the board of 
trustees. Had he not later become the head of the 
Christian Biblical Institute, which he made and main- 
tained a powerful factor in religious life to the day of his 
death, he could have given to Antioch such a permanent 
president as its traditions and noble scope demanded. As 
it was, though heavily handicapped by the double duties 
laid upon him as professor and president, his work told 
splendidly for the future as well as the present of the in- 
stitution. 

No time was lost in putting Antioch into shape. The 
plan of the new administration embraced five endowed 
professorships, for which one hundred thousand dollars 
were already in hand. All the debts of the college had 
been paid and it started out with a clear page. The five 
professorships and their incumbents were : 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 251 

Rev. Austin Craig, D. D., Bellows Professor of Moral and 
Intellectual Philosophy. 

Rev. N. Sheldon, D. D. (late president of Waterville Col- 
lege, Maine), Professor of Classical Literature. 

Rev. John B. Weston, additional Professor of Greek and 
Latin. 

Prof. E. L. Youmans (of New York City), Professor of 
Natural Science and of Mathematics. 

Prof. Frederick Shutz (of New York City), Professor of 
History and of Modern Languages. 

Prof. Edward Orton, later president of the University 
of Ohio, was made the head of the preparatory department. 
Professor Youmans was the first editor of the Popular 
Science Monthly and a leader in the scientific progress of 
America. The new board of trustees was composed of 
the following members, not a few of them leaders in the 
religious and commercial life of the day : 

Rev. H. W. Bellows, N. Y. ; E. E. Hale, Boston ; A. D. 
Mayo, Cincinnati ; Eli Fay, Woburn, Mass. ; Amasa Stanton, 
Marion, N. Y. ; John Philips, Ind. ; Thos. W. McWhinney, 
Yellow Springs ; Joseph Weeks, John Ellis, John Van Mater, 
William C. Russell, Yellow Springs ; A. A. Low, Brooklyn, 
N. Y. ; Richard Warren, N. Y.; H. P. Kidder, Boston ; E. W. 
Clark, Philadelphia ; John Kebler, Cincinnati ; John H. Foster, 
Chicago; Artemas Carter, Chicago; O. G. Steel, Buffalo; 
E. W. Devore, Ripley, Ohio. 

With Dr. Craig as president, the college opened in 
September, 1865. He put the whole force of his life into 
the work. He not only worked unceasingly for the in- 
stitution in the direct lines of executive labour, but he 
worked for it constantly indirectly by interesting others 
in its welfare and winning them to the same ardent sup- 
port which he gave it. The college was widely known 
throughout the United States not only because it had 
had as its first president the foremost educator in 



252 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

America but because of the splendid training it afforded 
and the type and character of those whom it graduated. 
The catalogue issued under Dr. Craig's direction for 
1865-'66, shows students,— despite the fact that the col- 
lege had been closed for two years, — from nearly all the 
Eastern and middle Western states, as well as some from 
the South and one from San Francisco. Other professors 
and assistants were installed. There was a music depart- 
ment ; a normal course for training teachers for the com- 
mon schools, which embraced a model primary school in 
connection with the college for practical work, with a 
special normal course for those who were to be fitted for 
high school teaching. In all its lines the college was 
thoroughly abreast with, and ahead of, the times. 



"The educational course of the college," the catalogue sets 
forth, " is intended to be thorough and practical, and is so 
arranged as to recognize and consult those inborn preferences 
and aptitudes, which inhere in the different orders of minds. 
The faculty is unanimously adverse to conducting education, 
— as has so largely been the case before, — in blind indifference 
to the providential characteristics distinguishing one individual 
from another. The fatal error of thwarting the manifest in- 
tentions of nature and forcing upon all minds alike the same 
inflexible iron system of training, will be sedulously avoided." 



The position of the college upon the subject of moral 
training was "that intellectual power, divorced from 
moral purpose, is an instrumentality of pure evil in the 
community, and that a young person may as well be sent 
out into the world without the knowledge of the multi- 
plication table as without understanding of the principles 
of the Sermon on the Mount." Especial effort was made 
" to inspire an ardent patriotism, a high ideal of citizen- 
ship, public spirit, and an interest in the prominent 
social questions of the day." No other reference than 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 253 

this appeared, — if, indeed, it could be taken as a refer- 
ence, — to the war of the rebellion then but just closed. 
An interesting feature of the college was that no special 
class-honours for intellectual preeminence were offered. 
The emulation-system, as it was called, was eliminated. 
" Other and higher motives than that of mere rivalry" 
were appealed to as incentives to study. 

As has been noted, Antioch had been the first college 
in the world to admit young men and women on the same 
basis to the same studies, and Mr. Craig was one of the 
first to advocate co-education for the proposed college. 
In June, 1850, he wrote urging a basis " which," in his 
words, " shall admit girls to equal privileges with boys." 
It was now to face a graver problem, the question of the 
admission of the negro. The closing of the war, the 
freeing of the negro and their large influx to the North 
during, and just after the war, left a large contingent of 
young negroes in the North, some of whom were anxious 
to better themselves intellectually. One day there came 
a test. Application for admission had been made by a 
coloured student. At a trustees' meeting the subject was 
discussed. In a little memorandum book preserved 
among the many letters and papers which are the price- 
less possession of the family of Dr. Craig, there is the 
following brief statement of the outcome, written in lead- 
pencil in his handwriting : 

" Resolved, that the trustees of Antioch College cannot, ac- 
cording to the charter, reject persons on account of their colour. 
Adopted ; nine to four. ' ' 

The memoranda gives Craig, Fay, Holmes, Weeks, 
Weston, Birch, Kebler, Van Mater, and Philips, as vot- 
ing for the resolution. 

Apropos of this is the following extract from a letter 
written by Dr. Craig some time previous : 



254: LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

"While the Jerusalem ministers were as yet so bound up in 
their narrow Jewish prejudices, ' preaching the word to none 
but unto the Jews only' (Acts n : 29), some men of Cyprus 
and Cyrene (Cyrene in Africa) 'when they were come to 
Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus ' 
(Acts 11 : 20). Their names are given in Acts 13: 1: — 

* There were in the church that was at Antioch certain 
prophets and teachers as Barnabas (of Cyprus), and Simeon 
that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene,' etc., etc. Two 
Of the five mentioned, were, apparently, Africans. Lucius 
certainly was from the north coast of Africa, as his country 

* Cyrene' vouches. And Simeon was surnamed 'Niger' (or 
as one oldest English translation — Wickliffe's — gives it, Black, — 
1 Symount that was clepid blak,' Black Simeon of Antioch, to 
distinguish him from Stone Simeon of Jerusalem (Simon 
Peter) ; beware that you don't modernize the orthography, after 
the Nasby method (not two gs, but one). Happy thing for 
us that Black Simeon and his African co-adjutor Lucius, had 
none of those mean prejudices against men of a different race 
and colour, which might have kept them back from founding 
that church at Antioch which first deserved and obtained the 
glorious name of * Christians.' " 

Dr. Craig spared himself in no degree in the adminis- 
tration of the affairs of the college. In a letter to a 
friend giving a reason for not having sooner answered a 
letter, Dr. Craig says, writing from Yellow Springs, De- 
cember 29, 1865 : 

" My dear Brother : 

" It shames me to find that my long silence has put you 
to the trouble of duplicating to me your much esteemed favour 
of July 29th, last. 

" Your letter reached me duly at Blooming Grove, in the 
state of New York,— where I had been settled as pastor for 
twelve or thirteen years. But it arrived while I was full of the 
cares and occupations attendant upon the removal of my home 
and family to this place, — 800 miles westward from Blooming 
Grove (on the Hudson). On my arrival here (early in Sep- 
tember last), the work of reorganizing and starting anew 
(after a suspension of two years) — the school known as 



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ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 255 

'Antioch College,' was assigned to me. — I had expected only 
the duty of the professorship to which I had been chosen. 
The various duties of this school, — I mean its supervision, 
government, correspondence, business-interests in part, and 
some work of daily instruction, together with the general 
chapel service on school-days, and preaching on Sundays, — so 
occupied my time, that I was compelled to defer my private 
correspondence in mass, until the close of the term. (Decem- 
ber 15th.) 

" During this term, the work of settling anew here added to 
my occupations. The day that our term closed, I started for 
Meadville in Pennsylvania, — 300 miles from this place, to de- 
liver my annual lectures to the students of the divinity school 
there. I was in that place two Sundays and eight school- 
days, — preached five times, and delivered fourteen divinity- 
school lectures of an hour and a half each (for my stay was 
briefer than usual, and I felt compelled to crowd the work), — 
visited much with the students, and wrote between thirty and 
forty letters in answer to private correspondents whose favours 
had been accumulating upon me during the last few months. 
Yesterday I arrived home from Meadville ; to-morrow I go to 
Cincinnati to preach there on Sunday, the 31st of December, an 
ordination sermon, and next Wednesday, January 3, 1866, I 
must be here again, to open the winter term of our school. 

" I write you all these personal details of myself, my dear 
brother, to excuse to you, as far as possible, my long silence." 



In this connection a letter which Dr. Craig wrote to 
Edward Everett Hale not long after the above illustrates 
still further the heavy demands made upon the president's 
time and strength. 



"I am very glad," he writes, " to think that I am at last 
free from the heavy responsibilities, and I will add exhausting 
labours, of the year. Could I have foreseen what the year was 
to be, when Dr. Bellows drew to me in August last his charm- 
ing picture of that ' first year of great enjoyment at Antioch,' 
I think perhaps I should have stayed with my parish. 

" I send you on an accompanying sheet, a statement of 
expenditures here for the college year, 1865 -'66. I prepared 



256 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

it for the use of my report of executive committee work. 
I took the treasurer's cash-book, copied out its entries and 
the separate items of the vouchers, referred to in the entries 
(there were over 2,100 items, in all) ; verified the cash-book by 
the vouchers; proved, — and in some instances, corrected, the 
account; analyzed the 2,100 items, and classified them. The 
results I give you under the several headings in the accom- 
panying paper. 

"Part of my design was to be able to show the trustees 
how much money must be spent next year for warming, light- 
ing, service, etc., before we come to the outlay for teaching, 
so that our estimate for next year might be based upon the 
certainties of knowledge, rather than queries and approxima- 
tions. This work in all cost me several weeks' labour, in 
which the evenings sometimes drew far on into the night. I 
am telling you what the work of my place has been this year. 
I have sent to your committee (chiefly to Dr. Bellows) 
several reports of business affairs here, accounts of term's 
business ; some of considerable length and labour. I re- 
member, of this class, one of ten foolscap pages, written 
for Mr. Fay, but sent to you last January ; another of twelve 
foolscap pages to Dr. Bellows in March ; another laboriously 
prepared report (though not official) early in this month (it 
fills thirty pages of letter paper). Other reports were of busi- 
ness of less amplitude. 

" The correspondence of the college has been in my hands. 
All applications for information, from all quarters, have come 
to me. This latter is recorded in the book in which I have 
kept notices of letters sent (or in important cases, copies). 
Besides the correspondence, applications in person, of all 
sorts come to my office. Whoever has (or thinks he has) 
general business, or particular, with the college, comes to my 
office. Then every day, I have had to spend most of the 
school-hours in the president's room ; for all matters touch- 
ing absences from class or chapel, applications for permis- 
sion, or excuses for absences come to me, of course. Hear- 
ing reports of all matters in the matron's department, was 
my duty too, and all discipline was in my hands — in its 
details ; mine was the work of keeping track of the reported 
absentees, sending the faculty messenger after them daily 
(generally), I hearing the issue ; executive committee busi- 
ness ; writing the orders, the business notes; giving direc- 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 257 

tions to those employed by us, to the bell ringer and helpers 
of various kinds ; looking after the grounds and premises. 

" The work has been much, — I cannot specify it well. 
Hearing all complaints from students ; their arrangement in 
classes, or about their board ; all applications for changes 
of all sorts that dissatisfied students so easily devise; re- 
ceiving visitors who come to the place frequently, talking 
of the college to them, and showing them through the 
college, — some coming expressly to see the institution. 
Much time has been taken up in this way. The duties of 
my professorship I have not mentioned. I have in this, 
done all that was to be done. An hour a day of recitation 
or lecture, about fifty lectures in place of recitations, and 
such preparation as I had time and opportunity to make 
(couldn't study much). 

" Chapel services were performed by me to the extent 
(I estimate) of about two-thirds of all (or counting in the 
afternoon Bible lectures given during the first term, about 
three-fourths of all). All occasional addresses to the pupils, 
at morning chapel, fell to me. Of duties of hospitality and 
society, ever regarded here as belonging to the president of 
the college, I assumed the full measure as soon as I entered 
the President's House with my family. Many occasions there 
have been when newly arrived professors were brought to- 
gether there to the table ; many when visitors of the college, 
or persons likely to be influential in regard to the college, 
were invited in the same way. Not a few occasions when 
whole classes, and several times larger companies of students, 
or students and teachers, were invited to an evening or 
afternoon party at the President's House, — to tea or dinner, 
or other kind of entertainment implying refreshments. 

" These things I have done (and not stintedly) because 
I knew that it was important to have such things done, knew 
that it was expected of the president's position and house, and 
I was willing (having temporarily accepted the duties of the 
place) to incur expenses in these things, which I assure you 
have not been light. 

" I write you these details because I wish you to know 
both what I have done and what I have not done. My own 
burden I willingly bear, but no more. And indeed my own 
burden here this year feels heavy to me. Very little freedom 
and leisure have been mine, and (what presses me still more 



258 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

closely) I find myself by the necessary expenses of the 
year (of course I include herein expenses of removal), several 
hundred dollars out of pocket. 

" I assure you of the respect which I cherish for you now 
as ever. Truly yours, 

" Austin Craig." 

Illustrative of the breadth of Dr. Craig and his in- 
terest in all matters pertaining to the uplift of the race 
is a letter written by him to Dr. Edward Everett Hale on 
March 17, 1866. In it he says : 

" Could you (easily) put us in the way of receiving the 
Reports of the Social Science Committees — and of the 
Prison Association, or other benevolent societies or insti- 
tutions of your state ? Do not let my request put you to 
trouble. But, if it were easy for you to cause such publi- 
cations to be sent us, they would be read with interest here. 

" At one of our Sabbath-evening Social readings, attention 
was called to the destitute condition of a Miss Milliken — an 
orphan refugee from Tennessee, who was then sick in this 
town. (She died last week.) A committee was appointed 
to visit her, learn her needs, supply any pressing necessities 
of hers, and report at our next Sunday evening meeting. We 
did so. She was a worthy, needy person, aged about nineteen. 
Her father was a Unionist, and was shot in his own door. 
She came away with our troops. 

" After our report, it was resolved by the Sunday even- 
ing meeting to open a subscription and provide for her. 
Mrs. Tucker (the matron) and some of the young lady 
students had the matter entrusted to them. They obtained 
over fifty dollars in money among us — teachers and students, 
— and arranged among themselves a plan of visitation, to visit 
Miss Milliken by days and watch with her nights, which they 
faithfully did until her death. They also looked up other 
cases of need and destitution, reported them to the Sunday 
evening meetings, and furnished various supplies. The 
reading of the article in the North American on the Irish 
Prison System at our Sunday evening meeting, March 4th, 
stirred up several to wish to visit the jails of our region. 
Professor Russell (who is a great help to us here in many 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 259 

ways) offered to take students with him to the jails. The 
following Saturday, a company of them visited the Spring- 
field jail (nine miles from this place). Yesterday they 
visited the Xenia jail and our County Poor House. They 
propose to visit the State Prison at Columbus in a few weeks. 

" Much interest is growing up thus (with some of our 
students) in the condition of the poor and the lost. We 
would like to increase it as much as possible. If you could 
now and then mention something in this line, that we could 
procure to increase this interest among us, I would be very 
thankful. Dr. Howe recently presented a report on the 
comparative mortality of children in different ranks of society 
(at least, that was the point noted in the brief reference to 
the report which I found in a paper). — How could I get 
that ? Dr. Howe used to know Antioch. Would it be at all 
out of the way if I asked him to send our college a copy of 
his report ? 

"Let me trouble you a little further. — You will bear with 
me for the college's sake, — what really good, brief tract on 
the Use of Tobacco, could you commend to me, for distribu- 
tion among our lads here ? Are Mr. Trask's quite the thing ? 
I know them only by name. And do you know anything 
better on the subject than Dr. John Ware's ' Hints to Young 
Men ' ? Mr. Mann used to distribute that tract, and I have 
copies yet on hand." 

Dr. Craig never swerved from his devotion to his 
own denomination, — or, better put, from his allegiance 
to a simple and direct form of Christianity, for he 
ever put Christ above creed, — even though there were 
sharp criticisms of his words from some of the older, 
meagrely educated, and less broad-minded of the preach- 
ers of the Christian faith. Nor did he ever lose an op- 
portunity to help them. In a letter to be read before the 
state convention of the denomination, written from Anti- 
och in November, 1866, he said : 

" The education of the ministry may occupy attention some- 
what. It must be a few years yet before our brethren have an 
ample Biblical school of their own. Meanwhile our young 



260 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

brethren who wish to prepare themselves by study for larger 
usefulness in the ministry, would find help and welcome at the 
Meadville Theological Seminary; or, if that seem too far 
away, or its course of study too extended for their opportunity, 
then they might find here at Antioch the helps they wish. 

" I am teaching this term a class in Biblical Geography and 
History which would be, I am confident, very interesting and 
useful to all students somewhat advanced, — especially to young 
men looking to the ministry. Then, again, I teach a volunteer 
class in the Greek New Testament which can be continued as 
long as there are persons here desiring it. Dr. Hosmer is 
teaching a class in the History of Civilization, which though 
not specifically Church History, does, nevertheless, so illuminate 
the history of the great elements contributed by Christianity to 
our modern society that the student gets a good insight into 
the relations of the Church to the world of the Middle and 
Modern Age. Dr. Hosmer will next term teach a class in 
Moral Philosophy and Ethics. I expect to teach classes in 
Mental Philosophy and in Evidences of Christianity. In con- 
nection with the latter, we will study the transmission of the 
Sacred Books from ancient times down to our day, and the 
history of our English Bible. 

" Besides these things a young minister could study here 
Logic, Rhetoric, Ancient and Modern History, Grammar, 
Languages, Physiology and various other sciences, making a 
selection of such studies as he might deem specially useful to 
his purpose; and so perhaps spending a year or two, or even 
three, to as much advantage here as anywhere else. 

"As to the influences here thrown around students, I be- 
lieve that they are truly Christian. I have great faith that 
Antioch, by the blessing of God, is to be more and more a 
school of Christ. We mean not to detract from other schools 
— there is room enough for all the schools now among us and 
the prosperity of one will, to some extent, be the prosperity of 
all ; but we wish Antioch to be favourably known to our breth- 
ren. Perhaps these special helps which it can now afford to 
some among us who wish to study a while for greater efficiency 
in their ministry, may make it not improper that Antioch should 
have a few moments' notice in your convention." 

Dr. Craig came into particularly close and intimate 
touch with the students under him. The affection for 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 261 

him is shown by numerous letters written by students and 
manifested in many other ways. But he was not only 
kind, he was just, also, and no wrong -doing could for a 
moment be tolerated. Whatever he himself might have 
thought about the needlessness of the prohibition against 
dancing and other similar regulations, he was granite 
when it came to any question involving known evil. In 
a letter to a young man living in a Western state he said : 

"When I first saw you as you were applying for admission 
to our school last fall, your evident maturity and capacity led 
me to expect a considerable advantage to our school from your 
membership in our classes and your intercourse with our stu- 
dents. The college had then but lately been resuscitated after 
its temporary suspended animation, and we had not yet formed 
its new life to the full resemblance of its former excellence. 
That former excellence was largely due, as President Mann 
often gladly acknowledged, to the presence here, at the very 
beginning, of a number of students mature in age and char- 
acter, who, giving themselves faithfully to cooperation with 
President Mann in his high aims, became a powerful element 
of salutary influence in the school and helped effectually to 
realize the ideal Antioch which Horace Mann planned. 

"When you first came to us, Mr. , I did you the 

honour of supposing you able to appreciate the high aim with 
which Antioch College was opened at first and with which we 
were wishing, hoping, striving to open it in this its second 
career. I did you the additional honour of expecting that 
your appreciative sympathy and influence, — while you con- 
tinued a student here, — would be with our aim and our well- 
meant effort. 

" Here I would gladly lay down my pen. The truth is not 
pleasant to write. 

" Mr. , you might have laid us under such obliga- 
tions to you as words of thanks could hardly measure. You 
could have done us much good. But we feel your influence 
here to have been only a hinderance and a harm. There 
were young men here who, at first, gave promise of excellence. 
Some of them became unsettled in purpose and character, by a 
baleful influence which it seems you exerted upon them. 



262 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"There is not a member of the faculty who did not feel 
some measure of relief when he heard that you had finally left 
the school. 

" For myself (and I write all this not in anger but in sorrow), 
I was glad when you came to us and gladder still when I saw 
you departing from us. 

" I cannot but think sorrowfully of the good you might have 
done us ; — cannot but wish that the future scenes and relations 
of your life may bring you the happy consciousness of good 
actually conferred according to your ability." 

To stop in the midst of exacting toil when every minute 
was precious and every hour was crowded to bursting, 
to write such a letter for the only object of so impressing 
this young man as eventually to make a true man out of 
him, — it was all characteristic of the noble unselfishness 
and devotion of the man. 

Into all the manifold activities of the college life, 
Dr. Craig entered with the earnestness and enthusiasm 
that marked his relations to the work of the pastorate. 
Possessing a keen sense of humour himself, he was ever 
appreciative of it in others, though he knew when and 
where to draw the line as to college fun as appears from 
his entry in his letter book of the copy of a letter to one of 
the students : "I shall expect you to put in my hands by 
seven o> clock to-morrow morning at the latest the Society 
Paper read by you last evening. ' ' The college newspaper 
in question had contained material which was ' ' offensive 
to good taste," resulting in a faculty resolution that there 
must thereafter be faculty revision of the paper. 

On the opposite page is a copy of a resolution of the 
board of trustees "that no students shall be permitted 
to appear on the stage at commencement wearing the 
Bloomer, or other unusual style of dress." 

The catholicity of the man is shown, too, in a letter to 
Rev. Dr. Wise, the prominent Jewish rabbi of Cincinnati, 
carried in person to Dr. Wise by a couple of Hebrew 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 263 

students of Antioch going on a visit to Cincinnati. In 
the letter he calls attention to a brief interview he had 
had with Dr. Wise in his synagogue and adds : 

"I do not speak by authority, but it is my opinion that if 
the Hebrew residents of your city were disposed to endow a 
Hebrew professorship in Antioch College and fill it, they would 
find this college in every way suitable to their wants and ac- 
ceptable to them. I wish, my dear sir, that you would take an 
early opportunity of visiting this place and seeing for yourself 
what our institution is. The young men — the Myers — who 
bring you this note can tell you much concerning our 
school. . . . We are having at present a very interesting 
series of lectures by Prof. Edward L. Youmans on ' The 
Unity of the Universe. ' I would be pleased to see you here 
some time and to hear from you at your convenience." 

In the midst of the exacting toil of his dual position 
as president and professor, such letters of cheer as came, 
and there were many of them, went far towards lighten- 
ing his burden. The following from Dr. G. W. Hosmer, 
one of the board of trustees and afterwards president of 
Antioch, father of Dr. J. K. Hosmer, the well-known 
professor, librarian, and author, illustrates the point : 

"Dorchester, Mass., July ij, 1867. 
" Dear Dr. Craig : 

" How do you all do at Antioch ? I should love to 
look in upon you. I wonder if you are as cool and comfort- 
able this Saturday afternoon as I am. The breeze comes up 
from the sea upon these hills and nature is as fresh and beauti- 
ful as in June. I never saw so charming a July in Massachu- 
setts. I am here with my classmate, Dr. Jarvis — one of my 
homes. I am to preach here to-morrow in the parish of old 
Richard Mather, the grandfather of Cotton, who had the rare 
felicity of once having two sons in the pulpit with him. In- 
crease, one of them, the father of Cotton, was minister in 
Boston and president of Harvard College. It is a fine parish. 
Nathaniel Hall is its minister and has gone to England. There 



264 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CKAIG 

are rich men here and I have respect to such these days ! 
Last Sunday I was at Jamaica Plains. Last night I spent with 
Mr. Fay at Woburn ; — he is gaining strength but still his brain 
is too sensitive to work hard. He introduced me to some of 
his wealthy men and he still hopes that they will give gener- 
ously to our college. I am to go and preach for him Sunday, 
and am also to visit Providence. Have you seen the telescope 
which Mr. Richmond has given us ? 

" I do not beg now but try to open the way for next autumn. 
I am a dangerous man ; if I commit robbery, don't wonder at 
it ! Just think of riding in the cars this morning with a man 
worth a million who has no child and might endow us and not 
feel it. Why shouldn't he be robbed ? 

" But I hope we shall get what we need, and soon enough to 
save us, without robbing. The feeling about Antioch is en- 
couraging. Men talk to me as if they considered it certain 
that we should be put upon a good foundation. 

" Mrs. Fay tells me she shall not rest till the chapel ceiling 
and walls are repaired. I hope the ladies of Yellow Springs 
will hold fast to this chapel improvement. Mrs. Fay will help 
them through with it next year. 

" A week ago I left Mrs. Hosmer and Miss Kendall at 
Deerfield with Mrs. James and the grandboy. Our Buffalo 
visit on top of Commencement week was very damaging to our 
strength and nerves and Deerfield quiet was delightful. Next 
week Mrs. Hosmer will come to Boston and go on to Plymouth. 

"Only think of 179 students entering Cambridge this week, 
and of Boston Latin schoolboys studying Greek and Latin 
six years with no look at nature or the world and life of to-day ! 
We have a more excellent way and I insist upon it here, ming- 
ling science, as Mr. Orton does, with classics. 

" Please give my regards to Mrs. Craig. Tell Mr. McCon- 
nell I am glad to hear he turns a deaf ear to syren voices from 
Massachusetts. 

"Ever and truly yours, 

"G. W. Hosmer." 



So, steadily working for every interest of the institu- 
tion, Dr. Craig filled out the time he had allotted, two 
years, and at the end of that time presented his resigna- 
tion which was with reluctance accepted by the trustees. 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 265 

The following letter was received by Dr. Craig in re- 
sponse : 

" Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, June 24, 1868. 
" My dear Dr. Craig : 

" I laid your communication before the board of trustees 
yesterday and it was considered with earnest and painful feel- 
ing ; all agreed in refusing to accept your final resignation ; 
and I think not one was willing to entertain the proposition of 
indefinite leave of absence. The vote was unanimous, that 
leave of absence for one year should be granted you, your 
chair to remain vacant, and you still to be Bellows Professor ; 
and that we all make every possible effort to gather students 
and increase available means so that we can welcome you back 
to your place among us as soon as possible. 

" Meantime our love and veneration rest upon you. May 
God bless you, my dear brother. Personally, I feel bound to 
you. I thank you for your generous, noble friendship. 

" With affectionate regards, 

"Ever truly your friend, 

"G. W. Hosmer." 



But the large field of the Biblical Institute lay before 
him and however great the desire to have him remain at 
Antioch, he knew in which direction duty lay. And 
duty to this man always lay in the direction of the 
largest possible service to his fellow men. 

Dr. Craig put into his work at Antioch all the resources 
of his rich store. It was so in whatever he did, — he 
must ever give and give his best in largest measure. 



"My teaching-work," he wrote in May, 1868, "is a bread- 
and-butter calling ; yet, in some respects, it has been nearly akin 
to the teaching-work of the Christian ministry. During the year 
I have given about 120 lessons and lectures in Logic and 
Metaphysics, tracing the laws of thought and the course of 
human thinking, so seeking in ancient and modern schools a 
criterion of the Truth and the feeling after the True One. I 
have also given about 125 lessons and lectures in History, giv- 



266 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

ing particular study in trying to trace the ringer of God in the 
course of human events. The conflict of Christianity with 
Paganism, the Rise and Growth of the Papal Power, the for- 
tunes of the Oriental and Eastern churches, the career of 
Mahometanism, the modern Re-awakening of the Human Mind, 
the Protestant Reformation, — these were subjects brought into 
prominence and considered fairly, as I trust to say, and under 
a Christian point of view. 

" Several lectures were given on the historical testimonies of 
the ancient writers as to the leading facts of the gospel narra- 
tive; also on the transmission of ancient books to our times. I 
gave to a volunteer class about twenty lectures on the Geography 
of Palestine and the History of the Hebrew Patriarchs, and to 
another volunteer class I gave instruction twice a week in the 
Hebrew language. 

"Besides these instructions which were all in Antioch Col- 
lege, I gave a short course of lectures on the Providential His- 
tory of the World to the students in the Wilberforce University 
at Xenia, Ohio." 



In addition to all this he delivered frequent sermons 
without charge to poor and struggling churches without 
pastors. 

Before passing from the work of Dr. Craig, at Antioch, 
it will not be out of place to give the subjoined some- 
what intimate view of Antioch printed in the Westminster 
Review, American Edition of October, 1868. The name 
of the author of the article is not given, but he states that 
he had long been in intimate touch with Antioch affairs. 
After recounting the initial work of Horace Mann in the 
development of the college on co-educational lines, not- 
ing Mr. Mann's testimony as to the wholly satisfactory 
result coming from this first test in the world of the 
feasibility of educating young men and women side by 
side, the writer speaks of his familiarity with the 
University of Virginia, with Harvard and with some of 
the English universities, giving it as his conviction that 
"in none of these male institutions can there be found 



ANTIOCH UNDEK DR. CKAIG 267 

anything comparable to the moral elevation, the refine- 
ment, or the intellectual enthusiasm which characterize 
the students of Antioch." 
Continuing he says : 

"In our estimate male students were first called gentlemen 
at Antioch. The young men were none the less chivalrous be- 
cause they did not drink or smoke ; while their personal neat- 
ness, courtesy and delicacy of behaviour, showed that under 
the refining influence around them a certain manliness, very 
rare in college students, had appeared in their characters. 
The college had the grace of a refined household. On the 
other hand, the finest and most womanly traits were visible in 
the young women. During the seven years of the present 
writer's intimacy with Antioch College, he at no time knew or 
heard of any scandal in connection with any student in it, and, 
in short, through personal observation of that and other 
co-educational institutions in the United States, we have be- 
come convinced that the purification and elevation of the 
educational systems of the world are to be wrought by carry- 
ing into them that influence which has never failed to civilize 
and refine wherever it has gone, — the influence of woman." 

Interesting also is it to note that at Antioch, in addi- 
tion to its other innovations, was first introduced in a 
college course the teaching of physiology and hygiene, as 
it was also the first regularly established college to in- 
corporate into its curriculum the theory and practice of 
teaching. 

Following is a sketch of Antioch College from the pen 
of Dr. Edward Everett Hale, a trustee of Antioch and 
one of her staunchest friends and supporters. This sketch 
was written by Dr. Hale for this volume. 

Antioch College and Dr. Craig 
" I have the most pleasant memories of Dr. Austin Craig, as 
I have the greatest respect for his distinguished services. I was 
first acquainted with him in the year 1864, when he was living 



268 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

in Blooming Grove, N. Y. He knew I was interested in 
Antioch College, and wrote me with regard to its future. I 
have a cordial note from him written in that year, asking me to 
visit him at Blooming Grove. I cannot fix the time when he 
removed to Yellow Springs. 

"Antioch College had been founded by the Christian de- 
nomination in the year 1850. " They determined to establish a 
college, which should outstrip from the start anything in the 
Western country, if not in the United States. They resolved 
not only that education should be thorough and high, but also 
universal, and to this end they embraced in their scheme of 
academic education, young women as well as young men. 
They resolved on knowing no more distinction in education 
than in religion.' 1 

"Seeking * to get the best,' as our fine American proverb 
says, the trustees of Antioch College called Horace Mann to be 
its first president. He was already distinguished as a leader in 
education. He had been the first Superintendent of Educa- 
tion in the state of Massachusetts, and that means that he was 
the first person to fill any such office in the United States. He 
had served eleven years in this capacity, and was then sent to 
Congress, where he served four years. In September, 1852, 
the trustees of Antioch College distinguished their new institu- 
tion by offering to him its presidency. 

" He accepted this offer, assuming the very difficult task, 
which came before an institution so broad and generous in its 
plans, and removed to Yellow Springs, where he remained till 
his death. He gave to the new college a reputation which it 
has never lost, for he taught the community that its work was 
closely allied with the great national system of free public 
education. 

" It was during Mr. Mann's presidency that Mr. Craig first 
became connected with Antioch College, — as chaplain and 
professor of Greek. 'In February, 1852, on a lecturing tour 
in eastern New York, Mr. Mann first met Rev. Austin Craig, 
then a young clergyman twenty-eight years of age, with whom 
his whole after life was singularly connected and whom he 
loved as a younger brother.' * 



1 Henry W. Bellows. 

2 A. D. Mayo, article on Horace Mann, United States Commis- 
sioner's report on education for 1896-1897, Vol. I, p. 759. 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 269 

" Antioch College had erected three admirable buildings at 
very considerable cost. Few colleges in the country could at 
that time boast such a building as the college proper. There 
was a large dormitory for men, and another for women, provid- 
ing larger accommodations for the residence of students than 
Harvard College had at that time. An elegant campus was 
laid out for the students, and a large and convenient house was 
built for the president. All this required money, and the most 
of this money had been raised by loyal subscriptions from the 
congregations of the Christian denomination. The promise 
had been made to all subscribers that if any person subscribed 
one hundred dollars, he should be permitted to name a student 
who might go through his course without other charge. And 
this privilege was not to end with the death of the contributor, 
but was to extend generation after generation, to his descend- 
ants or assigns. 

" From this unfortunate provision, it befell that while from the 
very first Antioch College had always a large assembly of 
students, it had almost no income. The dormitories were full, 
the instruction was admirable, the esprit de corps was well-nigh 
perfect, but from year to year there was almost nothing re- 
ceived in the treasury. The corporation which founded the 
college had assumed obligations which it could not discharge. 
Not unnaturally the founders of the college and the friends of 
Mr. Mann in New England appealed to a larger public to pro- 
vide permanent funds for carrying out the magnificent purpose 
which they had in hand. At that time, every college west of 
New England with the single exception of Antioch College was 
under the control of some ecclesiastical body. Even what were 
called the State Universities would receive no teacher or pro- 
fessor who was not considered sound in old fashioned ortho- 
doxy. An appeal was therefore made to the Unitarian Church 
to come to the rescue of an institution which had opened its 
doors with such courage to all sorts and conditions of men and 
women. 

" The trustees of the college found it more and more difficult 
every year to provide for the annual expenses by other means 
than the money obtained from the tuition fees of the students. 
Therefore, the trustees under the original charter proposed 
that if a new corporation could be formed ready to carry on 
the college on a generous sca?e without the incumbrance which 
had been carelessly assumed, not understanding its results, they 



270 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

were willing to make such transfer. When this offer was well 
understood, the American Unitarian Association held a meet- 
ing, ever memorable to the friends of Antioch College, in Hollis 
Street Church, Boston, in December, 1864, and voted that it 
would raise one hundred thousand dollars for endowment of 
Antioch College, if it could be placed in the hands of a new 
corporation. This sum was collected by the committee ap- 
pointed for that purpose, of which I was the chairman. The 
committee met the trustees of the old corporation in 1865, and 
with utter cordiality on both sides, a new corporation was 
formed, called Antioch College of Yellow Springs. 

" The hope and plan of all the leaders, both of the Christians 
and Unitarians, was the appointment to the presidency of the 
college, left vacant by the death of Horace Mann, of some dis- 
tinguished civilian whose name was publicly connected with 
education throughout the country. For a year or two the 
trustees were in hopes of carrying out this plan, and no one 
was more eager in this than Dr. Craig, as may be seen from 
his letters. General Garfield was one of the persons ap- 
proached by the trustees. Dr. Craig was entrusted with the 
correspondence with him. He declined, however. It was 
then determined unanimously that Hon. John A. Andrew, the 
War Governor of Massachusetts, should be invited. In this 
invitation the trustees had the cooperation of his nearest friends, 
who thought that if His Honour could be transferred to Ohio, 
his deserved influence throughout the country would be greatly 
enlarged. Writing to me on this subject, Dr. Craig said, 'I 
was yesterday told that Governor Andrew is to preside at 
Antioch. I hold my breath a little, fearing to shake the state- 
ment loose from the fact on which I hope it is built.' 

" These negotiations, however, were futile, and the trustees 
unanimously appointed Dr. Craig as president of the 
college, he having agreed to take the presidency only as a 
temporary appointment, as he had promised to accept the 
presidency of the Christian Biblical Institute when its doors 
should be ready to open. Almost of course he so endeared 
himself at the college to the students, the teachers, and the 
whole community, that it was with great regret that at the 
time he had himself fixed a new appointment was made. To him 
is due the great credit of the immediate success under the new 
administration. His duty was so successfully discharged that 
I think he did not regret his loyal acceptance of the charge. 



ANTIOCH UNDER DR. CRAIG 271 

He retired from the presidency blessed with the love and good 
wishes of all who knew him. He had the satisfaction of Know- 
ing that he had recalled to the number of its friends, many 
who had been somewhat alienated from the college by its 
misfortunes. He carried with him to his new post of duty the 
respect and love of all with whom he had had to do. 

" Edward Everett Hale. 
" Roxbury, Mass., June 18, igo6" 



XIV 

A LETTER FROM A MAN'S HEART 

WE may pause at this moment long enough to 
consider a letter written by Dr. Craig out of 
the fullness of his heart, a pointed, searching 
letter, and yet without bitterness. Again and again 
throughout his career, jealous men, envious men, ignorant 
men, attacked him, — by innuendo chiefly, in the open 
seldom. He maintained the same gentle silence that ever 
characterized his attitude to such people unless some 
vital principle was at stake, some truth so violated that, un- 
less made clear by the real facts, untoward results might 
follow. It was his fashion in such a case to write, or 
speak, with great plainness. To the hearts of those who 
falsely accused him his letter, or his spoken word, not 
only carried conviction but bore the noble weight of 
truth, crushing the falsehood, open or implied, to its 
death. And yet love was master of this man, even when 
he came close to a solemn sternness. 

The letter written while he was yet at Antioch just 
before his acceptance of the call to New Bedford, is as 
follows : 

" Yellow Springs, Ohio, July 23, 1867. 
" Dear Brother Ross : 

" Your welcome letter of June 19th came duly to hand. 
I would have taken the time to answer it immediately (al- 
though we were in the midst of ' Commencement ' services 
and scenes — when it came), only that I had a few days before 
sent you a note giving you such suggestions ' about the dis- 
position of the manuscript letter/ as your postscript seems 

272 



A LETTER FEOM A MAN'S HEART 273 

especially to require. — Hoping that you received that note 
and found its suggestions satisfactory, I now use my earliest 
good opportunity to reply to a few points presented in your 
letter. 

" I find this letter beginning naturally, just as my 'manu- 
script letter ' began ; — beginning, namely, with a reference to 
my own pecuniary circumstances. In that ' manuscript letter ' 
I was moved to say a few words concerning the financial re- 
sults of my ministerial life, in order that you might see why I 
had ventured to write concerning the Biblical School, after you 
had publicly expressed your wish that no one would write for 
it ' without giving.' 

"What now calls me back to the same subject — of my own 
pecuniary circumstances — is the following paragraph in your 
letter, which I will copy here in full : — 

" ' Now, Brother Craig, you have been some time ministering 
to an independent church, not specially of the " Christian Con- 
nexion," and who are reputed rich, and proverbially liberal, 
and to the, now, richly endowed Antioch and Meadville; just 
give us a liberal donation for the Biblical School, then publish, 
or have published, your recent letter to me, and then you may 
pray, and preach, and write for our school all you please, and 
the gift will so sanctify the advice, that we will be likely to 
give it a patient hearing.' 

"I answer (i), as to the publishing of my 'recent letter' to 
you, I will take no step whatever in regard to that. If the 
brethren of the Conference before whom it was read, choose to 
publish it — or any part of it (as has been intimated), they 
may do so. In that case the ' patient hearing ' will be far 
more likely to come from the regard due to the liberal Con- 
ference, at whose request the private communication is made 
public, than from any ' liberal donation ' given by the in- 
dividual who wrote the letter. 

"But (2), and chiefly, I answer to your paragraph — above 
copied — that it is based upon misapprehension of facts. Let 
me speak of myself to you freely. 

" I was not in my youth trained to any handicraft by which 
I could, if need were, gain my bread. I was kept at school 
most of my years until I was, say, twenty. Of some of my 
schooling I did not see the use at the time. I think it has 
helped me to serve more efficiently than I otherwise could what 
has seemed to be my calling among men. My attention was 



274 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

turned to the ministry in my last year at school (1843). * 
began to preach in that year, here and there, as occasion 
offered. In May, 1844, I was admitted a member of the New 
Jersey Christian Conference, with which body I have held my 
membership ever since. I was admitted as a 'licentiate.' 
The year following, I was ordained in pursuance of a vote of 
the Conference passed at its spring session in 1845. 

"In the years 1843, '44 an d '4^> I preached as often as 
opportunity was afforded me, a Sunday here, an evening there, 
in church, schoolhouse, or dwelling, as the call happened to 
come to me. Most of my preaching was with brethren — 
ministers of the New Jersey Christian Conference. I was 
engaged thus whenever I had a call ; — quite frequently at 
times ; then again, for intervals, at home studying. I sought 
no charge — no pastoral charge, as I felt myself too inexperienced 
for that. Nor did I seek compensation for my preaching. I 
considered my experience compensation ; and was glad when- 
ever brethren would give me an opportunity to preach in their 
churches, or in schoolhouses. I don't remember to have re- 
ceived anything — not even a dollar — for my preaching during 
the first two years of my ministry. I am sure that all I re- 
ceived during the first four years of rny ministry (say to the 
close of 1846) would not pay my expenses of study for the five 
months — January to May, 1846 — which I spent at Easton, 
Pennsylvania, learning Hebrew. 

"In July, '46, I began to preach more frequently ; went 
through most of the churches in New Jersey, from north to 
south. We had a sort of travelling college — as we called it. 
Elder B. F. Summerbell of your Conference remembers it, I 
dare say. With him I rode from Northern New Jersey to the 
Wyoming Valley, in Pennsylvania, going and returning, and 
preaching on the way. Elder C. W. Havens, also of your 
Conference, will remember those times. As does Elder 
N. Summerbell, Elder Isaac C. Goff, and others. I visited 
and preached to about twenty churches in New Jersey, and on 
the Pennsylvania border. To some of these churches my 
visits were repeated, again and again. But, as I now re- 
member, I received no money — not even expenses of travel — 
for these preachings. With the beginning of the year 1848 
(rather in December, 1847) I had my first permanent charge 
(permanent in a qualified sense). I went to Feltville, N. J., 
to preach for the winter. I stayed until April 1 7th next (four 



A LETTER FROM A MAN'S HEART 275 

months and a half). I preached every Sunday and taught 
the district school one quarter. For my three months' teach- 
ing and the four and a half months' preaching, I received my 
board and $58. That was all. My next ministerial service 
was with the Pearl Street Church in Fall River, Mass. I 
stayed there from April 2 2d to August 6th (1848), about three 
months and a half; preaching three times each Sunday. I 
received there my board and $50.00. Returning to my home 
in Peapack, N. J., I continued as formerly, to welcome invita- 
tions to preach in the New Jersey churches, without charge — 
without price. In October of this year (I think it was) I made 
a visit of a few weeks to Elder C. W. Havens, then at Stephen- 
town, N. Y., and preached frequently there. I think my ex- 
penses of journeying to and from the place were paid. From 
April 15th to August 19th (1849) I lived in the family of 
Elder Isaac C. Goff at Camptown (now Irvington) New Jersey. 
Elder Goff was at that time unable to preach, and I was his 
1 Supply.' For these four months' preaching I received my 
board and I believe $67.50. It was enough. Then, I re- 
turned home again, to study and to use opportunities for oc- 
casional service, here and there, as before. From January 
12th to February 18th (1850) I was on a visit to the church at 
Lewisburg in Pennsylvania. I preached thirty-four times dur- 
ing my visit there, and received $16 (which nearly paid my 
expenses of journeying), and, also, a good, new cloth coat. 
My first real ' settlement ' with a society was in May, 1850. 
I was invited to return to Feltville, N. J. ; went thither and re- 
mained ten months, to the end of March, 1851. For these 
ten months of service I received my board and $250. A large 
portion of this sum I expended in printing a series of ' Oc- 
casional Tracts,' which about this time I was led to publish. 
The general subject was Christian Union. Whether any good 
came of my tract enterprise, I cannot tell. I did not under- 
take it to make money. What I sold I sold at cost — very 
nearly, and gave away several thousands of copies — I believe. 
With the beginning of April, 185 1, I entered upon my pastoral 
work with the Blooming Grove congregation, in Orange 
County, N. Y. During the eight years (up to April, 185 1), in 
which I had been known as a preacher, my entire receipts for 
preaching had not (I believe) exceeded the sum of $500.00, 
which sum ( I presume) I had nearly expended, during those 
years, for my instruction in Hebrew — above mentioned — for 



276 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

books, and in publishing tracts. I do not set down these 
particulars to complain of them. I considered that I was 
acquiring my ministerial education in these eight years ; and 
my real compensation for my work was the experience and 
enlargement which the work brought me. 

" In April, 185 1, I removed to Blooming Grove, N. Y., where 
(with the exception of three intervals of absence at ' Antioch ' 
and in New Orleans, — amounting in all to eighteen or twenty 
months) I remained as pastor until September 4, 1865. At 
Blooming Grove my salary, up to 1859, was $600 per annum 
(with the use of the parsonage). I doubt whether this sum at 
Blooming Grove could be made ' to go so far ' as the same sum 
would go in your place. Blooming Grove was in direct daily 
communication with New York City, and so near to the city 
that city prices ruled in our markets. The price of fire-wood 
also, on account of the great demand made by the railroads 
running through that section, was higher (I suppose) than 
with you. I think I never paid less, in the cheaper times, than 
five dollars a cord for hickory wood ; afterwards it rose to eight 
dollars. The eighteen or twenty months that I was away from 
Blooming Grove perhaps paid my actual expenses for the period 
of absence. They added nothing, I think, to my resources. 
From April, 1851, onward to the close of '58, I had, out of my 
salary, saved enough to make considerable additions to my 
library, and to commence housekeeping. I suppose I have put 
into my library, first and last, not far from two thousand dollars. 
I consider that an outlay on account of tools. Eighteen hun- 
dred and fifty-nine found me established as a housekeeper, with 
my little saved money put into household goods and furniture. 
At this time also my salary was increased from $600 to $800 
per annum ; though about a year later it practically became 
$ 700, by my remitting $100 annually on condition of being 
allowed six weeks' ' vacation ' in summer. I was not quite out 
of the little debt which the commencement of housekeeping 
threw upon me when the war began, and that expansion of 
prices commenced which bore so heavily on salaried men. It 
was not long before the purchasing capacity of $700 fell a hun- 
dred per cent. I could not live within my salary. Next year 
was as bad, and the year following. Meanwhile I had said 
nothing to my congregation ; hoping that the national trouble 
might end soon, and feeling that I ought to bear burdens as 
well as others. But I was already several hundreds of dollars 



A LETTEE FEOM A MAN'S HEART 277 

in debt, with no prospect of improvement near at hand. I 
then told my congregation how affairs were with me, and said 
that I would be compelled to seek more means somewhere. 
They immediately voted to add $500 annually to my salary, 
and to give a donation visit, which in various ways brought us 
in nearly $400 more for that year. But, in making that com- 
munication to the people, I felt no longer free to remain with 
them. It may have been a matter of feeling only ; but I could 
not stay, and did stay only ten months, — until the beginning 
of September, 1865, when I removed to this place. The 
Blooming Grove people were, as you wrote in the paragraph 
copied above, 'reputed rich and proverbially liberal.' That 
liberality I cultivated for others. The church collections for 
purely foreign objects amounted in one year that I now remem- 
ber to nearly $500 (speaking roundly). I frequently gave as 
much as any one, and urged the duty of giving. But for my- 
self I never spoke one word in the pulpit, and never preached 
on the duty of congregations to see that they who preach the 
Gospel ' live by the Gospel.' For that reason, I suppose, the 
liberality of the congregation did not reach me until it became 
necessary to say to them that I could not live on the salary 
paid me. And when I had to say that, I felt myself no longer 
at liberty to stay with the people. They are a liberal people, 
as you say, and perhaps I did not well in keeping silence so 
long concerning my necessities. Their liberality has abounded, 
as I am very happy to learn, towards their present pastor. I 
have only words of praise and love when speaking of that ex- 
cellent congregation. I mention these particulars to show you 
how mistaken is your inference — your apparent impression con- 
cerning my financial ability, as derived from the fact that I 
' have been some time ministering ' to a church ' rich and pro- 
verbially liberal.' The fact is that on leaving Blooming Grove 
to settle in this place, in September, 1865, I brought with me a 
debt of several hundreds of dollars, which had grown upon me 
during the years of the war. And the other statement made 
by you, with its implied inference, that I have for some time 
also been in the service of ' the now richly endowed Antioch, 
and Meadville,' seems quite a different kind of fact to me from 
what I think it seems to you, for counting in the expenses of 
removal hither and re-settlement in Yellow Springs, I cannot 
reasonably hope to be as well off, pecuniarily, at the beginning 
of September, 1867, as I was September, 1865, when I removed 



278 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

from Blooming Grove to Yellow Springs. My service to the 
richly endowed 'Meadville,' — do you suppose that I receive a 
large salary there? Last year I received not a dollar from 
Meadville; the year before, for fourteen lectures delivered 
in December, 17th to 27th, I was paid fifty dollars. My 
first teaching service at Meadville was in October, 1864; 
my clear receipts (after deducting expenses of travel) were 
twenty-three dollars. From the date of my appointment as 
a ' Professor ' in the ' richly endowed ' Meadville, up to the 
present time (say three years) I believe I have drawn from the 
treasury of the seminary just seventy-three dollars over my ex- 
penses. Your entire unacquaintance with these detailed facts 
alone saves me from suspecting you of a grim joke in your 
paragraph where you intimate my ability to give you 'a liberal 
donation for the Biblical School,' because 1 have 'been some 
time ministering ' to a ' rich and proverbially liberal ' church, 
and to ' the now richly endowed Antioch and Meadville.' 

" My salary here at -■' Antioch ' is $1,500 per annum. I know 
it stem* to S( me of our brethren a large sum; but our pro- 
fessors spt . k of it as an inconveniently small sum. 1 know 
that 1 In $boo per annum which pi (lessors were paid here a 
dozen yeais a^u was a larger sum (lelatively) than $1,500 now. 
For m)Stif, u is just possible that by living closely here, 1 might 
in three < r tour years be able to save enough to put me out of 
debt. At present, the best 1 can say to those who ask me for 
a 'liberal donation ' to any enterprise is what 1 said recently 
to Elder Heath, who asked me for a gift of $500 for * Union 
Christian College.' 1 told Brother Heath that, if he would 
leave me my tools (that is my library) and some personal 
articles valued by us as gifts, I would surrender to him every 
dollar's worth of property that I now own, on condition that he 
would pay my debts. (I could well afford to do that.) 

11 It is very unpleasant, Brother Ross, thus to rehearse to you 
these poor financial details of my affairs. It is only less un- 
pleasant than to be considered able to give a ' liberal donation ' 
to a worthy cause, and yet unwilling. 

" I pass now, to answer a few points presented in your letter, 
but not connected with myself, personally. The first point is 
not entirely foreign to the scope of the above and foregoing 
matter, relating to ministerial support. I will copy a few 
passages of your letter, in which you speak of your own ex- 



A LETTER FROM A MAN'S HEART 279 

perience in the ministry. You wrote me that you ' have never 
received over three hundred dollars per annum for ministerial 
services, and, probably, the average wages would be less than 
two hundred.' You < have had pretty hard work to get along.' 
You ' sometimes think ' you ' might have been something if ' you 
' had had half a chance.' Even in writing an important letter 
you have to * write hastily, for ' your ' garden and potatoes need 
hoeing, and ' you ' know no other way than by the labour of ' 
your ' hands, in part, to minister to ' your ' necessities, and to 
those about ' you. Yet you ' wish, sometimes, that some of 
our brethren in the ministry, who have left the connexion, and 
others who are a little homesick because our churches do not 
properly appreciate and reward their services, and complain 
that our early teachers neglected to impart proper instruction 
to the churches, could, for a while, be placed in the condition 
of our early ministers. ' 

" Certainly it is well to appreciate the difficulties and the 
faithfulness of those who have gone before us. The history of 
the hardships suffered by those who, in any sphere of use, have 
acted as pioneers of Truth and Righteousness, constitutes a 
portion of the most useful and instructive of human records. 
And yet, neither are pioneers (even in Christianity) always 
free from blame in all things ; nor is the work of the pioneer 
ever complete, without the work of a very different sort of 
'gift' for which the pioneer prepares the way. For pioneering 
you need robust manhood, « rough-and-tumble ' qualities ; you 
may postpone refinement of all sorts until the pioneer's grand- 
sons come to the service. When the pioneer has done his 
work, and the wilderness is subdued, then a new state of so- 
ciety, new conditions of life unfold, and, as a consequence, new 
gifts are required in those who must carry on the work which 
the pioneer began. Mind you, I do not say that less manhood, 
less zeal, less devotion to the work, will serve ; 1 only say that 
an entirely different class of ' gifts ' may be necessary. When 
the work in a given society or community is to save the people 
from devouring vices, — from drunkenness, gambling, harlotry, 
profanity, Sabbath-breaking, — in short to plant the Church, — 
the very germ of spiritual society, among that people, then a 
strong soul like John the Baptist (and no matter though he be 
as rough in speech and dress as the Baptist was) — a strong 
soul, a sharp rebuker, a stern denouncer, is needed. Very 
little need then for church history, or for Greek and Hebrew 



280 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

learning ; the poorest translation of the New Testament ever 
made might be good enough ; nay, but a few chapters of the 
Gospel would be sufficient. Repent! Repent! Repent! 

" But, Brother Ross, when the pioneer has done his work, and 
the spiritual life — the Church — has been planted in a place, 
then commences a new set of conditions. The-Saved-from- 
their-Sins must be carried on in a course of instruction and 
improvement, and, especially, those who shall be born into this 
Christian community — the new generation who need not to be 
saved, as their fathers, from sins of gross kind, but only pre- 
served — safe, instructed, guarded in Christian homes and trained 
up in the sanctuary of God, — this new generation will need 
(not a pioneer preaching at irregular times, in the open air, by 
Jordan, or in the desert), but a regular pastor, a fixed sanctuary, 
stated worship, Sunday-schools, Bible classes, Scriptural ex- 
positions of such kind as only he can very well give who has 
had a certain kind of education which the John of the Desert 
did not receive (perhaps) ; who also has access to books, and 
has leisure for continual study. Now all this, Brother Ross, 
presupposes that the age of 'Locusts and wild honey,' has 
come to an end in that community. The pastor must be fed 
by his flock, if he is to be as useful as possible to them. If he 
has to spend his time catching his ' locusts ' (or to put it in 
modern phrase, in ' hoeing his potatoes ') he cannot spend it in 
giving 'attendance to reading,' in 'searching the Scriptures ' 
and in pastoral work. But, if it is needful that a man give him- 
self wholly to these things, and best that he begin early, then 
those who are to come after the pioneers thus, will hardly be 
qualified, even, to catch locusts. Some of the pioneers began 
to preach when they were forty years of age, or older, and had 
two kinds of 'faculty.' They could, by a trade, earn their 
bread, and at the same time give their Sundays to the preach- 
ing of the Word. It is an admirable thing to be able thus to 
do ; but the tendencies of the age — the multiplied demands of 
churches on the ministry — seem to put that ability far away from 
the rising generation of preachers. Let me instance my own 
case, /never learned a trade or handicraft, by which I could 
earn my bread. Those years which would have been spent 
naturally in an apprenticeship to some trade, were spent by me 
at school. I was learning what could be made serviceable, in 
some degree or in some place, to the ministry. Not a pioneer 
1, — not a John the Baptist ; but (perhaps) a scribe instructed 



A LETTER FROM A MAN'S HEART 281 

into the kingdom of heaven, so as to be able to bring forth out 
of the treasure (of history, of libraries, of Hebrew and Greek 
learning) things new and old. I reverence the pioneer of the 
Gospel ; but I am not a pioneer. My gift is different from his. 
I cannot live by the labour of my hands. If I am to be in the 
ministry, in any effectual way, it can only be on the gospel con- 
dition that ' they which preach the Gospel should live by the 
Gospel.' And it is certain to me that I could not 'live' (as 
prices now rule) in (say for instance) your conference, if (as 
you say) the churches are not able to give more than an 
average of four hundred dollars for pastoral services. I would 
be compelled to decline all invitations from those churches for 
the unsurmountable reason that I ' cannot dig, and to beg I am 
ashamed.' 

"Now, if our churches wish to make the pioneer condition 
of the ministry a permanent institution, instead of recognizing 
it, as it is, a merely transient phase of the ministry, to be 
superseded as quickly as possible by a fixed and better con- 
dition of things ; then I cannot doubt, there will often here- 
after be brethren who will become what you call * a little home- 
sick,' and who will, of course, leave the connexion, if they can 
find elsewhere opportunities of living 'by the Gospel.' Nay, 
it is my belief that if we have a Biblical School, and are able in 
it to train up able pastors and teachers, we cannot prevent them 
— we must rather expect them to receive and accept calls 
from churches, here and there, which are glad to pay good 
ministers, and to pay them competent salaries. For, the more 
we educate our ministry, the more we impart studious habits, 
and the desire for learning and books, the more, in short, we 
make it necessary for our ministers to use their time for study 
and to have means for the purchase of books, the more we 
shall make it difficult for them to remain among us, unless our 
churches do really make it possible for them to ' live by the 
Gospel. ' 

" I assume, of course, that few sensible men will be fright- 
ened by the idea of leaving the denomination. The earth is 
the Lord's, the churches everywhere are His ; the minister of 
the Gospel may go into all the world and preach the Gospel to 
every creature ; in short, he may rightfully go wherever he 
may find a Christian hearing ; and whether in the Christian 
denomination, or out of it, he may still be in the vineyard of 
the Lord. Nor, will it be likely to repel these ministers from 



282 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

the work to suggest to them that they go ' to build upon an- 
other man's foundation,' when they go beyond the bounds of 
the Christian Connexion to preach the Gospel. In that sense 
nine-tenths of our own ministers are even now building upon 
another man's foundation ; that is, are carrying on work begun 
before their day. And every year makes it more necessary to 
do this very work. There are, say, fifty thousand churches or 
societies already planted in our country. It would be a great 
growth, indeed, if two thousand new societies should be 
planted this year — or any one year. Then, there must be, 
generally speaking, as many as twenty-five ministers engaged 
in building upon foundations already laid, where there may be 
but one engaged in laying foundations. Even those who think 
themselves at work in laying foundations, may call to mind 
that to them — as even to the Apostles of Jesus — it is in an im- 
portant sense true that * other men laboured, and ye are 
entered into their labours.' So the workman do his work 
faithfully, it is little matter whether he work at the foundation 
or at the turret. Let each work where he best can. 

"This train of thought — and, indeed, your own course of 
remarks — brings me to that portion of your letter in which you 
ask me the following questions : 

" 'Why cannot the Unitarians with their abundant wealth 
and liberality, and their Harvard, Antioch and Meadville, 
educate a sufficient number of pastors and teachers to supply 
them? Why do they not build up more congregations in the 
country? Why do not the common people hear them 
gladly?' 

" I suppose that some member of the Unitarian body could 
better answer these questions of yours than I can. Brother 
Fay, in the Gospel Herald for June 15th, mentioned a re- 
mark of Dr. Osgood's, recently made, that ' with the exception 
of some political demonstrations in a few of the great cities, the 
largest gatherings the East has witnessed within the past year 
have been called together under the auspices of Liberal Chris- 
tianity.' Brother Fay proceeds to say 'that the Unitarian 
churches of New England were never so fully attended as they 
have been the past year, and there have never before been so 
many societies reorganized in the same length of time with so 
abundant promise of success, and there are several very im- 
portant points, many of them already centres of vast influence, 
like Cleveland, Ohio, and Portland, Oregon, where ample 



A LETTER FROM A MAN'S HEART 283 

salaries would be guaranteed from the beginning, from which 
the call for ministers is most importunely made ; but, alas ! as 
of old, ' the harvest is great and the labourers are few.' 

" Let me here a.sk you two questions, Brother Ross, (i) Is 
the deficiency in the supply of pastors and teachers any greater, 
proportionally, among the Congregational churches known as 
'Unitarian,' than among the ' Orthodox ' Congregationalists ? 
(2) What Protestant denomination has, within the last two 
years, in proportion to the number of its churches, built up 
more congregations in this country, and gained a larger hearing 
from the people generally, than the ' Unitarian ' ? 

" But, though I thus answer and return questions, do not 
mistake me. I am not one of those who have an unqualified 
admiration for everything * Unitarian.' Neither do I belong 
to the number of those (alas ! that the number seem so large 
among us) who seem unable to speak of the Unitarians except 
when some word of doubt and suspicion is to be uttered. 

"I pass on to other questions which you have put to me. 
You write that, ' Some, perhaps many, have thought that 
Brother Craig conceived that Antioch College was as good an 
institution, and doing as much for the cause that the Christians 
had in view in its conception, as though they had retained and 
managed it in accordance with their views. In short, that the 
Christians should be satisfied with Antioch, and patronize it. 
And also that the Meadville School is just the Biblical School 
that we need, and that nothing but prejudice and sectarian 
bigotry moves us to try to build another college or Theological 
School. Now, Brother Craig, is this your opinion ? ' 

" I grow weary, Brother Ross, of the length of this letter. 
Were I to answer this passage and question just copied from 
your letter, answer it fully, as I would like to answer it in con- 
versation with you, — I know not how many more pages I would 
have to add to the number — already too many for your com- 
fort, or mine. A few general statements must here suffice. 

" 'The Christians ' should not (in my opinion) 'be satisfied 
with Antioch.' No men — and no body of people — having 
capacities and means, should ever be satisfied to have every- 
thing done for them. Were Antioch twice the excellence that 
I think it to be, still I should say that a school of less merit — 
being at the same time a school sustained by our efforts — call- 
ing forth our liberality, taxing our energies, costing us some- 
thing, would do us more good. I have hoped, Brother Ross, 



284 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

that our brethren would by and by awake to the recognition of 
the great opportunity for usefulness to ourselves — to society — 
which Antioch presents to us. It will be a great disappoint- 
ment to me, if at last our brethren let Antioch utterly go, 
helping it forward no more in the very useful career which I do 
feel confident is yet before it. The best thing our brethren — 
especially here in Ohio — could do with $100,000, even now 
(it seems to me), would be to put it into Antioch College. But, 
though Antioch should continue (as I trust it will) to sustain 
and to carry forward the great principle of unsectarian yet 
Christian education, the equal right and privilege of all who 
would come, — and though the college should within a year 
double its present endowment, and within ten years quadruple 
it (as is not unlikely) ; yet, if our brethren are to sit quietly by, 
seeing all this work done by others, — work which they have a 
right to help do — which they (in this state of Ohio) have 
abundant means for doing, — I must say, rather than have 
them send their sons and daughters to Antioch — to steal their 
education (as some hearers are content to steal their preaching ; 
— letting others pay the preacher), I would count it far more 
creditable to them to be content with an education in any 
second rate seminary of our land, on condition that the semi- 
nary were their own in this sense; namely, that they had paid 
for it, and whatever educational means it did afford, were 
honestly procured by their own efforts and contributions. 
Bad as ignorance is, it is not so bad as meanness. 

" Our people did incur a disaster here at Antioch, — the in- 
evitable effect (I do sincerely believe) of our own rash and 
blameworthy methods of operation ; but the disaster does not 
seem to me an irretrievable one. Nor need we — nor ought we 
—(I think) to go into a < pet ' and renounce the great oppor- 
tunity of doing good and getting good which here remains to 
us. 

" I wish, however, to confine myself to the enunciation of a 
general principle. If I should turn aside to the details of this 
' Antioch ' business, the story would grow interminable. The 
principle is this : As we have means and powers for service in 
the vineyard of the Lord, we ought not to be content to have 
our schooling given to us, — nor our schools built, endowed, 
carried on for us ; we ought to do — ourselves. I confess it 
would be an unwelcome assurance to me, that our brethren 
would never more do anything for Antioch. But, if that (al- 



A LETTER FROM A MAN'S HEART 285 

most insane disposition as I must regard it) should finally pos- 
sess those of ours who might be — and should be helpers of 
Antioch's work, — then let the brethren by all means work some- 
where ■, — help something ; build up some institution with their 
hands and means. The surest sign (it seems to me) of decay 
to a people would be to find them willing to hang upon others, 
to be held up by others ; when they ought — by reason of their 
strength and means — to be holding themselves up, and helping 
to hold up those who may especially need help from them. 
1 Antioch ' may do even more for the great principle which 
gave it birth in the present relations, than it might have done 
had we retained it wholly under our denominatio?ial control. 
But, it will not bless us, as it might, unless we do something 
for it — give it of our means. 

"Further: I hold 'The Meadville School ' in respect and 
grateful remembrance. Not everything taught there accords 
with my views, or suits my preferences. Yet, I hold myself 
prepared to prove by a most minute detail of individual cases, 
that the Meadville School has done us good, — far more good 
than harm ; and I believe that I can show that the good was 
deliberately intended and the resulting harm (whatever it may 
have been) not intended as such. We have received great 
benefit (I am prepared to prove) from the Meadville School ; 
we owe it a debt of thanks. We might have received more 
benefit from that school, if we had given it something, instead 
of always taking from it. We have encouraged our young men 
to go thither ( We, I say, — I mean conferences and ministers 
and writers of ours) — to take the instruction kindly and freely 
given ; well, that we had to do then for we had no instruction 
to give them at home ; but, why need we let those liberal 
friends who gave books, and teaching, supply also the very 
bread and butter (and clothing sometimes) of our young men ? 
We might have paid the boarding bills of our own students, 
and have been every way the better for it. Let me give you 
one instance, Brother Ross. 

"One of our 'Elders' went to the Meadville School 
to take a full course of study. He helped himself all 
he could. He built with his own hands the house in which 
he and his little family expected to pass the four years 
of his course there. That spirit deserved sympathy and might 
have justified our churches in making some small provision for 
his help. Thinking so, I referred to his case in one of our 



286 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

papers, hoping that the statement of the facts in the case 
would stir up some churches or brethren to offer him aid. I 
have yet to learn that he received a dollar of help from any of 
ours in response to the call ; but the statement was copied 
from our Herald into a Unitarian paper, and shortly afterwards 
a lady in an Eastern state — a stranger to him and to us — re- 
mitted twenty-five dollars to the president of the Mead- 
ville School, for the brother whose case had been thus men- 
tioned. 

" Brother Ross, it does seem to me that it was neither wise 
nor prudent, nor magnanimous nor generous in our churches to 
permit our own * Elders ' year after year to enjoy the benefits of 
the Meadville School, and to be supplied at the same time by 
the school with their daily food. We were not able to furnish 
those students, at that time, with the instruction they sought ; 
but, surely, our people had plenty of bread and butter / But 
I hold back at this point ; for good Brother Ross has already 
written me that he ' can conceive of no real good to result from 
publishing the nakedness of our fathers or brethren. What is 
said on this subject ' (Brother Ross) 'should prefer to have said 
directly to the delinquents.' But, alas! Brother Ross, the 
delinquency in this special respect seems to have been — one is 
tempted to say — almost general among us. 

"But I am weary of writing these things. Two things I 
would rejoice to see our connexion do, and to help — according 
to my scanty means — to do. 

" (i) I wish to see an entire cessation of all unkind flings 
at ' Meadville,' at ' Antioch,' and at the Unitarians. We owe 
Meadville thanks, at any rate. There is nothing surely in our 
professed principles, and in the Christian spirit, to prevent us 
from speaking kindly and appreciatively of Unitarian schools 
and people, when they deserve ; and if they don't deserve, 
silence would befit us rather than the ungenerous style of 
speech which some have used in our papers. I believe that our 
brethren could do good to the Unitarians in the West, and get 
good at the same time. I thank no man who attempts to sow 
dragon's teeth, and who wishes to serve our denomination by 
continually belittling Unitarians, Universalists, Campbellites, 
or any others. The men who do such business seem to me to 
betray a lurking consciousness of inability to successfully cope 
with them, a sense of inferiority, weakness, or insufficiency of 
some kind, to be compensated for by extra efforts in the way of 



A LETTEE FEOM A MAN'S HEART 287 

inflaming or exciting denominational prejudice of some sort. 
From my very heart, I despise all that style of operations. 

" (2) I wish to see our connexion do something — something 
that costs, that taxes our energies ; to do it, too, all ourselves, 
asking nobody for a dollar, except our own folks. I cannot 
think that < Meadville ' would be any the less useful in case our 
brethren should establish and sustain a good Biblical School. 
The endowment of Starkey Seminary, of Union Christian Col- 
lege, or of half a dozen good academies and schools by us, 
would not surely hinder or limit the usefulness of ' Antioch ' in 
any way. I am sure we have too much ' prejudice and sec- 
tarian bigotry ' among us ; but we will get rid of them more 
speedily by giving and doing, by building up something useful 
to ourselves and others, than in any other way. The text, 
therefore, of my sermon to the connexion would probably be 
the words : ' Let us rise up and build.' And I am sure the 
plans would be greatly successful, if we could find true among 
us, also, that other text, « The people had a mind (literally a 
heart) to work.' 

" One other passage I had marked in your letter for reply : 
that paragraph which contends for the need of a pastor and a 
teacher in each church, as much (or in the same way) as you 
understood me to urge the need of the two distinct gifts for the 
Biblical School. Instead of answering this here, I will make 
myself more clear, I hope, in the ' manuscript letter ' when it 
returns to me, as your letter of July 1st, yesterday received, 
leads me to expect that it will return. If I publish that ' man- 
uscript letter,' or any part of it, I will reread it carefully, and 
make some changes — for the better, I hope. 

" This letter, Brother Ross, is a private letter — especially. 
I have written it hastily, snatching intervals by night and by 
day. If it were not so long, I would probably rewrite it, 
changing some expressions, and toning down some paragraphs, 
which, as I reread them, seem fuller of a spirit of complaining 
than I thought them when I penned them. But, let it go for 
what it is really worth ; I do not despond. Your esteemed let- 
ter of the 1st instant I will answer by and by, — not at such in- 
tolerable length, I hope, as this. 

"Wishing you strength and peace, I am truly yours, 

"Austin Craig." 



XV 

MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFORD 

DTJBING the closing years of the Blooming Grove 
pastorate, also while at Antioch and until 1869 
when he became president of the Christian Bibli- 
cal Institute, Dr. Craig gave regular lectures to the stu- 
dents of the Meadville Theological School, located at 
Meadville, Pennsylvania. This school was established 
just as he was completing his college course, and he 
early took a lively and sustained interest in it. The 
school, as its first prospectus set forth, presented the 
History and Explanations of the Old and New Testa- 
ments, Biblical Antiquities, Evidences of Natural and 
Eevealed Eeligion, Mental and Moral Philosophy, Logic 
and Ehetoric, Composition and Delivery of Sermons, 
Ecclesiastical History, Systematic Theology, Pastoral 
Care, Greek and Hebrew Languages, Latin and German. 
" Persons wishing to know the religious sentiments of 
the school," the prospectus sets forth, "are informed 
that it has been established by the united efforts of the 
Christian and Unitarian denominations. To such as are 
ignorant how far these denominations acknowledge the 
right of private judgment, we would further say, that 
students of all persuasions are entitled to equal privilege 
and will receive like attention." 

The dual control of the school, while helpful in many 
ways, was not altogether satisfactory to some who were 
interested, and now and again most unreasonable criti- 
cisms were made. Dr. Craig, ever ready to lend a hand, 
either to smooth troubled waters or to rebuke the storm 

288 



MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFOED 289 

that roused them, wrote a letter when the school was 
some five years old, published in the Christian Palladium, 
which has a direct bearing. 



"I have been an attentive reader," he writes, "of several 
communications which have appeared in the Palladium re- 
specting the Meadville School and the Unitarians. Some of 
these communications seem to have been written in a spirit of 
fairness and Christian candour; others of them are characterized 
by narrowness and illiberality. Extreme positions have evi- 
dently been taken by both the admirers and the opposers of the 
school, and of the religious body that originated it. One 
class of your correspondents writes in strains of constant 
eulogy respecting the utility of the school, and the liberality 
and culture of the Unitarians. — And in truth the Unitari- 
ans are liberal, are cultivated. And so are the members of 
the 'New Jerusalem Church.' And so are others. Liberality 
and culture are not confined to the Unitarians ; nor is there 
any Christian reason why we should be less anxious to dis- 
cover and acknowledge the liberality and culture of other 
denominations, than to admire them as the possession of our 
Unitarian brethren. And the Meadville School is prob- 
ably one of the best institutions of its kind. 

" That it is based upon liberal principles, that it has com- 
petent and faithful professors, and that it offers many and 
valuable aids to students of theology, is, I suppose, quite gen- 
erally conceded by those who are qualified to adjudge its 
claims. And if this institution had always been mentioned by 
your correspondents in a manner calculated to give a sober 
view of the aids afforded by schools of divinity, I would not 
probably have troubled you with the present communication. 
But such has not been the case. 

" Theological schools and theological training have been 
studiously held up to view as affording aids quite indispensable 
to the Christian ministry ; and extravagant impressions have 
been given respecting the utility of that kind of ministerial 
preparation which schools of theology usually afford. Now, 
evidently, the utility of a theological institution consists in the 
mental and religious culture which it provides. And so far as 
my observations of the influence of such institutions extend, 
— (and I have some knowledge of them) it would not be far 



290 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

from the fact to estimate their direct moral and religious in- 
fluence as nothing. 

"There are no adequate provisions in the present general 
system of theological training for the culture of the heart. 
And I confess that I look with diminishing interest upon that 
peculiar kind of preparation for ministerial life, which theo- 
logical institutions afford. I wish to be sensible of their ad- 
vantages, and to avoid all terms of unnecessary disparagement ; 
but I cannot close my eyes to the fact that our schools of 
theology are doing comparatively little for the advancement of 
great moral and social interests. They do not furnish our 
most energetic and efficient reformers. Ten laymen, I pre- 
sume, could be found in our country who are doing more to 
advance the cause of Peace, Temperance, Freedom and Gen- 
eral Reform, than is being accomplished by the majority of all 
our theological schools. 

"One fact must be obvious to even the careless observer ; 
— a most startling and suggestive fact; — that the clerical pro- 
fession has not the confidence a?id sympathy of the masses of 
the people! And why have they not? I answer, — (and to 
my mind this is the very root of the difficulty) — the prevalent 
system of theological training tends to sever the minister from 
everything pertaining to the actual life of the busy world 
around him. It tells him that his place is in the pulpit; and 
the retirement of the study. It teaches him to regard the 
pulpit as a most holy place ; and a place set apart, not so much 
for the brotherly instruction and sympathy, which the sweat- 
ing, toiling millions need, as for the elucidation of tangled 
mysteries, and denunciation of divine wrath. He learns also 
to dread freedom of thought; — to regard a creed as a thing 
more sacred than the faculties of the human soul ; or, to con- 
sider the bread and wine on the communion board, and the 
wooden slabs and crimson cloth of the pulpit, as holier than 
truth. 

" It will perhaps be thought that I have described extreme 
cases. But whether extreme cases or not, such cases are by no 
means few ; and if all our present theological schools do not 
furnish them, it is nevertheless undeniable that every system 
of theological instruction which isolates the student from the 
varied toils and interests of busy human life, tends to deprive 
him of the sympathies of the multitudes, and thus to narrow 
the sphere of his Christian influence. The theological schools 



MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFORD 291 

may indeed make of their students preachers and theologians, 
but they do not, and cannot, make them what is of infinitely 
more consequence, Christian pastors. 

" And what is now the crying need of religious societies ? 
I answer, Pastors. Preachers they have in abundance, and 
learned and acute theologians ; but what matters it, so long 
as the people feel that there is little sympathy between them 
and their ministers ? — and I repeat it, the Church needs 
pastors : — men who will sympathize with all the peculiar re- 
lations and toils and dangers and temptations of the struggling 
masses in society ; men who can enter the cabins of the poor 
without causing the heart of the busy housewife to flutter, and 
who will take the children upon their knees and pour into their 
ears, with all the simplicity of childhood, the story of the self- 
denying and suffering Jesus : — men who, whether in the pulpit, 
or at the fireside, shall be so closely knit in sympathy with the 
' common people ' that they shall ever confidently feel (if they 
do not say) He is one of us. Such men the Church needs ; the 
world needs ; but what rational hope can we indulge that our 
theological schools will supply them ? We may imagine a 
kind of theological school which would supply such men, but 
it would be in many respects unlike the institutions now exist- 
ing. It would be a manual labour school. Hard physical 
labour should be a part of its discipline. This would tend to 
give the student force and energy ; it would develop a noble 
self-reliance ; it would prepare him to grapple with difficulties 
and to overcome them. It would also dispose his mind towards 
the actualities of life, so that he should not be carried away 
with the various trifles which engross the attention of multitudes 
now in the ministry. Oh, how inefficient and spiritless are 
many in the ministerial office ! — How false their views of life ! 
How few their sympathies with the masses in society ! And 
all this from having had no experience in the toils and trials of 
ordinary life. 

" This school should also cultivate the intellect of the student 
by such studies as would give him self-knowledge, knowledge 
of society, and real life ; and such as should enlarge his mind 
to the grasp of the universe. Studies in Physiology, General 
History, Astronomy, Mental and Political Science, Anatomy, 
Ethnology, and the like, would seem to be better adapted to this 
end, than the fruitless round of Hebrew roots, Biblical Antiqui- 
ties, the Composition of Sermons and Dogmatic Theology. 



292 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

"This school would recognize the fact that goodness is the 
natural ground of truth, and that a pure heart is worth more in 
interpreting the Scriptures than all ' Hermeneutical Aids ' and 
' Critical Apparatus.' It would therefore chiefly aim to vivify 
the religious affections. It would cultivate the moral sense. 
It would enforce the claims of piety. It would labour most 
of all to draw out the soul in fervent aspirations to heaven. It 
would study the Holy Word not so much * critically ' as prac- 
tically; not so much to learn 'a systematic theology,' as to 
develop a pure life. 

' t The professors in this school should be selected more with 
reference to their piety and Christian experience, than to their 
doctrinal opinions and scholastic knowledge. They should 
esteem good sense and fervent piety as attainments far ex- 
celling, and to the Christian minister infinitely more impor- 
tant than all the treasures of classical and scholastic lore. 

" But I have wandered from the subject with which I began. 
I intended simply to remark the ultra positions assumed by 
some of your correspondents, in relation to the Meadville 
School and the Unitarians. One class of them, as I have 
observed, seems extravagantly smitten with the charms of this 
school and the denomination which gave it birth. This class 
of persons seems in danger of closing its eyes upon the ex- 
cellencies of other institutions and other religious bodies. 
They seem verging towards the point of exclusiveness. 

" Brethren, let us not part with the catholicity of spirit which 
we have professed before the world. 

" Another class of your correspondents takes a position with 
reference to this school and the Unitarians upon an extreme 
opposite to the writers above mentioned. From this class we 
hear that ' Unitarian greatness consists in empty show and 
haughty assumption • ' that ' the Unitarians are as ignorant as 
they are weak,' and that 'as a people they do not understand 
the power of the Gospel ; ' and that they are < one of the most 
feeble, effeminate, spiritless and ineffectual denominations in 
the country to qualify our ministers ; ' and that ' we may as 
well send children to a maker of artificial flowers to learn to 
raise fruit, as to place young men under the instruction of 
Unitarians to learn to preach the Gospel.' 

"I am sorry, Mr. Editor, to read in the Palladium expres- 
sions so illy calculated to promote 'brotherly kindness,' as are 
some of the above. Harsh words and empty declamations are 



MEADYILLE AND NEW BEDFORD 293 

not characteristic of cool heads or Christian hearts. And 
what is to be gained by such language ? Will it give further- 
ance to the cause of religious brotherhood ? And then, what 
must the world think of it : a newspaper bearing the name of 
Christian, professing to be devoted to the cause of brotherly 
love, and proudly displaying underneath its title the Christian 
motto — ' Sirs, ye are brethren ; why do ye wrong one another ? ' 
— such a paper, I say, prostituted to become a vehicle of slang 
disgraceful to a partisan political print ! In the name of Chris- 
tian charity I protest against it ! " 

While his interest in the Meadville school heightened 
with the years, interest in him on the part of those in charge 
grew as markedly, so that, in the beginning of the school 
year, 1864-65, both interests were welded and he became 
non-resident professor of i l the Department of Christian 
Life and Experience." In a letter from President 
A. A. Liver more, regarding the course of lectures, he 
says : 

" Meadville, Pa., August 26, 1864. 
"My dear Craig: 

" At what time do you think you could give us a 
month, or are your plans in regard to Antioch so undeter- 
mined, that you cannot state the time ? We are not partic- 
ular. We will accommodate you as to what month in the 
year would be most agreeable, provided it is not June. 

"A course of talks, or lectures, or suggestions or what- 
ever it might be called, on the Christian Experience and Life, 
including such topics as Conversion, Repentance, Renewal, 
Prayer, Work, Communion with God, Faith in Christ, 
Fellowship in the Church, Study of the Word, Formation 
of Character, Habits, Leading a Good Life, Hope of Accept- 
ance, etc., was my idea. If a rapid review of John's Gospel, 
less in its critical than its positive bearing, would help this 
course, well and good — if not, then I would not use John. 
The two upper classes might be taken, and one year it might 
be John's Gospel, and one year it might be a course of con- 
versations, or lectures. 

" You already have sermons in which you have drawn 
out gold leaf of thought in a palpable form on these topics. 



294 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

" A prominent clergyman of our body was so much pleased 
with this arrangement that he said the funds should be pro- 
vided from his society. 

" Now, dear brother, so we think and feel and pray, you 
understand us. 

" Truly your friend and brother, 

"A. A. Livermore." 



In replying to this letter Dr. Craig writes : 

" Your list of subjects for my ' talks or lectures ' to your 
students, I like. But I would like to treat the most of those , 
subjects in connection with the reading of John's Gospel in 
the Greek (of considerable portions of it, at least), — as was 
at first proposed. Perhaps I could not adopt any definite 
plan (in all its details), until I had been some time with the 
young men, to feel their spirit, and learn their special needs. 

"And (if it meet your approval) I would like to hire 
lodgings and board, — during my term — at ' Divinity Hall.' 
If the young men will let me mess with them, — so that I 
may spend familiar hours with them out of the class-room, 
— I may more readily obtain such a knowledge of them, 
individually and collectively, and more speedily gain such 
friendship from them and for them, as might be no incon- 
siderable preparation for teaching them successfully. — I hope 
too, that some excellent opportunities of profiting them, might 
arise in those out-of-class hours." 



In the winter of 1865 he wrote to his wife from Mead- 
ville: 

"I am very comfortable here in number nine, and in this 
circle. I think everything is improved. The administration 
below stairs is very good, it seems to me. The cookery 
and quality of food are excellent, and everything seems to go 
on without hitches. And the behaviour of the students is 
more sedate, I think, than it was. I have told you that the 
newcomers are, seemingly, good men. 

" I took dinner at Mr. Cary's house day before yesterday, 
and tea at Mr. Livermore' s last evening. They are very 



MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFORD 295 

kind. Both of them were in my room to see me to-day, and 
Mr. Livermore comes in every day. 

" I have had interesting seasons with the students in my 
lectures. I occupy from eleven to twelve-thirty (dinner) 
every morning ; and to-day I had an extra hour (two-thirty 
to three-thirty p. m.), which I expect to continue. I told Mr. 
Livermore that I would take an extra hour, if he and Mr. Cary 
would throw up their recitations for a week and take a rest. 
He thought well of it ; and so I am doing the daily work of 
about a sermon and a half ! 

" Tea bell rings now. (Five-thirty o'clock.) 
" Eight o'clock — I have just returned to my room from 
the chapel. One of the students — Mr. Hathaway — preached. 
For an hour after tea a student was with me talking of good 
things. And, after my afternoon lecture, three students came 
into my room — ' Christian ' ministers. One of them with his 
wife and children lives on the seminary ground in a little hut 
that he built with his own hands for about $100. He found it not 
possible to rent a house for less than that sum a year ; and 
with that he built a ' house ' in which he can live for four 
years; for so long he thinks to stay. Another student is 
here, who has six children. Another of the three who visited 
me this afternoon, had wished for years to go to school, but 
his way had hitherto been 'hedged up.' A few months ago 
he had a call to a church within twenty-five miles of this 
place ; so now he attends school here week-days and goes 
home to preach on Sundays. He also brought his brother 
with him to this school." 



" I had but one lecture on Saturday. To-day (Christmas) 
I have but one. This afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Livermore and 
Mr. and Mrs. Cary are invited to the Christmas dinner here 
with us all. Was it since I wrote that I visited some students 
of ours — Elder Earl and his brother (and the elder's family — 
wife and five children) ? He preaches half the Sunday to a 
church twenty miles away, getting say $250 a year, which with 
his allowance from the seminary of four dollars a week for 
board, makes his living. I visited too the little shanty home 
of another minister here, with his wife and child — I guess I 
told you of that. The students come in and visit me fre- 
quently in my room. I am much pleased with the newest 
comer, a tall, benign looking man, who has been a Methodist 



296 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

circuit preacher, — preached four years, — is about twenty-six 
years old. Meads Tuthill came from church to dinner with 
me yesterday. 

"In the morning preached in the Unitarian church from 
Luke 2 : 15, ' Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this 
thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known 
unto us.' Good attention, and sermon not long. Afternoon 
at three, went to the church of the coloured people, preached 
to them from Acts 8 : 26-39,— the Conversion of the Ethiopian. 
Services in all about one hour and twenty minutes, and atten- 
tion good. Went to Mr. Cary's— on invitation— to tea. Even- 
ing, preached in the Unitarian church. Text, < Prepare ye the 
way of the Lord.' Had a good time and didn't preach very 
long. So much for the preachings. 

" I am to go with Mr. Livermore walking to-day, to see the 
college on the other hill — to see some of its people — and its 
cabinets. It is a pleasant day." 

Year by year, as Dr. Craig went in and out among the 
young men of the institution, coming, as lie wished, into 
very close and personal touch with them, his influence 
over them deepened and he was able to help shape the 
life of many a man into the mould of the Master. Others 
than the students in his classes were attracted to his lec- 
tures. Frequently men of wide reputation as preachers 
would come to hear him. He not only had the ability 
backed by a splendid scholarship, of disclosing vital 
truths in simplicity and nobleness, but he had, at the 
same time, grace of language, a winning personality, a 
charming method of presenting what he had to say. Nor 
was his presentation that of the dry-as-dust theologian, 
musty and smelling of the grave-clothes of dead dogmas, 
but live, vivid, picturesque, vital, fragrant as a breath of 
spring, shot through and through with the brilliant 
threads of the Master's love. 

Now and again as some particularly distressing fling 
appeared, he made public answer to it and in such a way 
that there was no adequate answer to his answer. The 



MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFORD 297 

Herald of Gospel Liberty, the denominational paper of the 
Christians, contained a paragraph to the effect that a 
minister who had been a pastor of a Christian church 
had begun ministering to a Unitarian church, noting 
that he was a graduate of Meadville Seminary and that 
"the reader may draw his own inferences." To this 
Dr. Craig replied, applying logic to the " inference" to 
show that it was by no means necessary to believe that 
the man went to the Unitarian church because of Mead- 
ville and then adds : 

" But the reader whose denominational antipathies are active, 
who in every heap of Unitarian Meal sees a Cat watching her 
opportunity to pounce upon our unsuspecting Mice, will find 
the premises already given, quite sufficient for ' his own infer- 
ences.' He has only to fall back upon his self-evident proposi- 
tion that, no ' Christian ' pastor ought to go a ministering to a 
< Unitarian Society.' True, a ' Christian ' minister may go ' into 
all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature,' — may go 
and preach to Mahometans, to cannibals, and to Hottentots ; 
but he must not go a ministering to a society of Unitarians : 
that is simply going to the Bad. Therefore, how pestiferous 
must that ' Meadville ' be, which does not inspire even its 
1 Christian ' graduates with a horror of the Unitarians ! 

"There are inferences of Jaundice, which are not good; 
there are inferences of Logic, which are better ; there are in- 
ferences of Charity, which are best of all. The premises given 

in the case of our Rev. Mr. A do not forbid to infer that 

he left the Christian church in B , cherishing all kindly 

feelings towards them, while they also retained their old respect 
and affection for him : — that he went to the Unitarian Society 

in C , in the spirit of a Christian minister, desiring the 

salvation, and the upbuilding in holy things, of the flock. If 
he truly went in that spirit, may the Gracious Master abun- 
dantly bless him and his ministry ! " 

Perhaps in no way may the influence of the work of 
Dr. Craig at Meadville, and its scope, be better shown 
than in the following from the Eev. S. S. Newhouse, D. D., 
of Lima, Ohio, who was a student under Dr. Craig : 



298 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

" Dr. Craig's lectures were of the nature of a profound ex- 
position, from the original text, of portions of the New Testa- 
ment — chiefly of the Fourth Gospel. Though delivered to the 
outgoing class, his lectures were always largely attended by 
others — students, citizens, visitors and resident professors, in- 
cluding his great admirer and personal friend, Dr. A. A. Liver- 
more, the president. The writer well remembers one occasion, 
when among the visitors present were three eminent divines 
and authors, of the Unitarian body, — Rev. James Freeman 
Clarke, D. D., of Boston ; Rev. Henry W. Bellows, D. D., of 
New York; and Rev. William G. Eliot, D. D., of St. Louis. 
These men sat with manifest fascination under the mild but 
magical eloquence of the profound teacher in the deep things 
of life as revealed in the original text of our Lord's words, and 
passing out were heard to speak in terms of wonderment and 
high appreciation. 

"Dr. Craig's work at the Meadville Theological School 
terminated with his acceptance of the presidency of the Chris- 
tian Biblical Institute at Eddy town, New York, in the autumn 
of 1869. At the head of this Bible School, and as its first 
president, Dr. Craig spent the later years of his life in his 
favourite employment as teacher of teachers of the Word and 
the divine art of preaching. 

"The deep and clear perception of revealed truth, the en- 
larged view of life, the charming presentation of the character 
and mission of Jesus Christ, and the simple but logical unfold- 
ing of the divine method of human redemption that this unique 
expounder of the Gospel imparted to those who were favoured 
with his instruction, were a great spiritual uplift and enlarge- 
ment of vision of human life and destiny to them. 

"The impression made by his gentle personality and sim- 
plicity of manner added to the truth he so beautifully portrayed. 
He never failed, though as unassuming as a child, to impress 
his pupils as being, in the gifts of his nature, and by the endow- 
ments of grace, among the eminent sons of God, challenging 
admiration and imitation. Such was his power over young 
men preparing for the Christian ministry that, in many in- 
stances, he was unconsciously copied in the tone and manner 
of his address. 

" He was a rare man, possessing qualities of nature alto- 
gether out of the ordinary. By contact with him one quickly 
learned that he was possessed of that type of dignity which al- 



MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFOED 299 

ways inspires admiration and sincerest respect, and which be- 
gets the feeling that one is in the presence of an elite spirit of 
his race. In his habitual action he revealed the traits of a 
noble soul. In his bearing as well as in his conduct he showed 
himself the singularly beautiful character that he was — thus 
making his teaching the more impressive and effectual by its 
illustration in his luminous Christian life. 

"Dr. Craig was a Christian gentleman, not in the ordinary 
sense of these words, but in that profounder sense in which the 
soul continuously and increasingly lives in Christ. His life was 
so imbued with the spirit of Christ, that his walk and conversa- 
tion were an epistle of the grace of Christ to all who came 
within the range of his influence. 

"In his daily movements he convincingly expressed the 
reality of the religion he believed and taught. Not more by 
what he said than by what he was in his daily life — the same 
guileless, genial Christian soul — did he certify the truth of the 
saying : ' The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to 
every one that believeth.' 

"Dr. Craig lives not only in the memory of many men who 
sat under his forceful and profound instruction at Meadville, 
but also in their characters and life-work, for he left an abid- 
ing impress of himself and of his faith upon their hearts and 
minds. His influence will perpetuate itself in the generations 
to come. Such a man can never die." 



In the year 1868, when Dr. Craig had completed his 
work at Antioch and while waiting for the opening of the 
projected Christian Biblical Institute, he accepted a call 
to the pulpit of the North Christian Church, of New 
Bedford, Massachusetts. It was the most important 
Christian church in New England, with a large, well- 
equipped house of worship, with ample means at disposal 
for the successful carrying forward of the work, and with 
a large, well organized and enthusiastic society. Here 
Dr. Craig preached for a year, preached with all the 
added power that came with his ripening years. The 
congregation was hearty in its support, earnest in service, 
appreciative of the talent and power of their preacher. 



300 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

Here Dr. Craig set a new standard for himself. His ser- 
mons grew in depth and breadth ; his splendid scholar- 
ship, always with him a matter of progress, brought out 
the old truths with new and original force ; he was 
singularly effective. Crowds packed the church. The 
newspapers contained appreciative reports of his sermons. 
The reputation of the preacher both as a man in the pul- 
pit and as a man on the street among men spread beyond 
his own congregation, for those of other denominations 
recognized in him not only the winsomeness of the man 
but the spirit of the Master. 

" I have always understood the position of the Christian con- 
nexion," he says in writing at this time to a friend, " to be that 
we fellowship the Christian heart in all; leaving the head of 
the Christian, in any particular case, to be flat, broad, or round 
as the case may be. If any man gives us evidence that he has 
the spirit of Christ, we do not trouble ourselves (at any rate, 
we do not trouble hint) about his theological opinions. He 
may be Trinitarian or Unitarian, Calvinist, Armenian, or 
Universalist ; yet, if he has the spirit of Christ, that is all we 
require in order to our fellowship. This, as I have always sup- 
posed, is the position of the Christian connexion. At any rate 
it is my position." 

" Now I do heartily believe, and always have believed," he 
says to another friend in a letter which well illustrates his 
catholicity of view of the Bible as a book, " the Holy Scrip- 
tures to be one only and sufficient rule of faith and practice. 
And that the Bible contains a Revelation from God, I feel as 
sure of, as of anything known by faith and not by sight. But 
there is in the Bible, as there was in the living word Himself, a 
human element, as well as a divine. To revere the Bible for 
the Divine Truth which is divinely given in it, is our wisdom 
and duty. But to worship the letter, is possible (as history 
shows), though not beneficial. 

" Oh, what an outcry was raised about three centuries ago 
when Reuchlin appealed from the Latin translation of the Old 
Testament to the Hebrew Originals ; and when he showed that 
the Hebrew manuscripts differed among themselves — had multi- 
tudes of ' various readings ' as the modern term is ! Before 




NORTH CHRISTIAN CHURCH 
New Bedford, Massachusetts 




INTERIOR OF NORTH CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH 



MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFORD 301 

that time, the millions of Western Christendom rested in the 
notion that everywhere, all the manuscripts of the Scriptures 
had been so preserved by the superintending Providence of 
God, that every word in every manuscript was the exact copy 
of the Holy archetype. 

" But men — (good men in many ages) — have regarded the 
Bible with superstitious, or ignorant, reverence. Should they 
not be taught the way of the Lord more perfectly ? If in one 
age men believe too much, and make a merit of holding to their 
excess of belief, another age will surely come when the Law of 
Reaction in our mental constitution will swing them over into 
— at least temporary — belief of too little. If one should deny 
the Divine element in the Holy Scriptures, that would be to 
' unchain the Tiger ' : but, if one should reverently attempt the 
removal of mistaken views from the minds of men, that would 
be (as I think) a meritorious work of Christian instruction 
To reverence the Babe of Bethlehem, so as to quicken all the 
childlikeness within us, would be piety and duty ; but to go to 
worshipping the Swaddling Clothes in which the Heavenly 
Babe was wrapped, would be a superstitious adoration of relics, 
into which, in fact, millions of Christians have fallen. The 
question concerning Luke's Gospel with me is this: What 
does Luke himself say concerning the origin of his Gospel ? 
And the answer is — not as our English erroneously has it (Luke 
1:3), but as Luke's own Greek gives the idea — that he ac- 
curately traced up everything to the original source of the 
Apostolic testimony. Luke professes to have written his history 
as the result of historic research. His authority was the 
Apostles,— -and there the authority of his book is to be found. 
That he was moved by a Christian motive, and that his record 
is historically accurate, I have satisfactory reasons for believ- 
ing. That he wrote as a mere penman of the spirit of God, 
writing down what the moving spirit gave him to say (as was 
the case with the prophets who come to us with their ' Thus 
saith the Lord,') — all that is so contrary (in my view) to what 
Luke himself says, that I frankly say, I am not able to believe 
it. 

"Luke's Gospel is to me a critically-prepared and accurate 
history of the precious words and life of our Lord and divine 
teacher, Jesus Christ : and in Him, Inspiration dwelt in all full- 
ness ; so that His words are our Rule of Faith, and His command 
our Law of life," 



302 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

How this many-sided man won men to him and held 
them fast in his friendship may be seen in a thousand 
ways, such, for example, as this fragment of a letter : 

"It gave me great pleasure yesterday to find at the post- 
office your good letter of the 4th instant. Your letters are 
very interesting to me. I never saw you, and yet I seem to 
know you intimately. And the secret of our mutual knowl- 
edge and affection is, that we, both, love a Person whom 
neither of us has ever seen. And He has made it possible to 
His friends to love without sight ; — He has broken down all 
separating walls, making His friends one in Himself; and He 
has abolished the Ocean and the Mountains, — and Time itself, 
almost, — that words of Christian love might have free course, 
and run very quickly from heart to heart throughout the world. 
I have friends of my own personal winning, and dear are the 
form and eye and voice of such. Other friends have I, of 
whom I must say — Jesus won them for me : and dear and pre- 
cious from such have been to me the Epistles which His loving 
spirit impelled and filled." 

While it was believed on all sides that Dr. Craig was 
to be the first president of the Christian Biblical Institute 
now rapidly nearing the point where a president must be 
installed, Dr. Craig was not so sure as the others that it 
was for the best that he take the position. In a long let- 
ter to one of those in authority written from New Bed- 
ford in April, 1869, he suggests that possibly there might 
not be full sympathy with him on the part of all the 
members of the denomination. He urged that the board 
of trustees make a most searching test of the matter and 
ascertain whether or not he was the unanimous choice of 
the denomination for the position. Regarding his own 
personal wishes and comfort he said : 

"Try to realize my condition, dear brother. — Here I find 
myself unexpectedly (as if the Lord's own hand had brought 
it all about), — where I have ample work, most undeserved full- 



MEADVILLE AND NEW BEDFORD 303 

ness of personal affection, — and better still, fullness of atten- 
tion to the Word. Then, for the first time during the last seven 
years, I find myself in a position where I could reasonably 
hope to make some money — which I greatly need to do, both 
to pay off the debts which those unsuccessful years have 
brought upon me and those removals, and to provide for the 
little flock that is growing up in my own household. I have 
not said one word about compensation of services here, except 
in answer to their statement at first that ' if $2,000 a year was 
not enough they could pay me more ' : I said, * that is 
enough.' But I so often have hints that a furnished house rent- 
free could be expected here, if I would stay, — that I feel 
1 tempted,' perhaps. I have said nothing in reply to all this. 
I mean to keep myself free to make any change that may 
seem needful next autumn. 

"But, when I think how reluctant (nay, even, how unable) 
our Brotherhood may be to pay me at Starkey the large 
salary that my wants require, I feel some uncertainty and 
hindrance to my choice." 

In the spring of the same year he wrote to a friend : 
"I am happily situated here. I have never been more 
satisfied with my ministerial relations and work than I 
am here." 

But all things were shaping themselves for the still 
larger field of operations, and strong ties of mutual affec- 
tion which had formed between himself and the church of 
New Bedford, were broken as he became the head of the 
first theological school in the world that did not teach 
theology, but that did teach the Word of God. 



XVI 

THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 



D 



E. CKAIG was not only in the noblest and 
tenderest sense of the words a winsome man, 
not only one who caught and held and reflected 
more of the divine light of love than is the portion of 
most mortals, but he possessed a strong, virile character, 
an earnestness of purpose, a consistent persistency, if we 
may so use the words, in accomplishing whatsoever he 
set his hand to do. It mattered not if the thing to be 
attained stood miles ahead on the journey ; it mattered 
not if he saw plainly it would be years before the plan 
would be ripe for the harvesting, he kept steadily onward 
with one undeviating purpose that could not be thwarted 
until the end was accomplished. He was a living illustra- 
tion, among many other things, of the fact, at least so 
maintained by some, that genius is eternal perseverance. 
He was shrewdly alive to the futility of pressing unduly 
for a point at an inopportune time, but, however neces- 
sary strategic delays, he never lost sight of the line of 
main advance, and, concentrating all his forces, pressed 
forward irresistibly. 

For many years he had believed that there could be no 
large success among the churches of the Christian con- 
nexion or better put, no wide-spread success among its 
pastors, until they had a school for preacher- training, — 
pastor-training were nearer his thought. For years he 
studied the problem from all points of view. He took 
account of the failure of other institutions for the train- 
ing of men to preach the Word of God, and made plans 

304 



THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 305 

for an institution which should avoid the errors of the 
past and present and be the means of sending men out 
into the world fully equipped in such things as his acute 
mind told him were the essentials, stripped clean of the 
impedimenta of dogma and tenet and creed and all the 
theological rubbish which men were wont to load upon 
the bent backs of those who should have been stalwart 
and free. He laid his plans broad and deep for a school 
where the Bible should be taught on each day, theology 
on no day. His idea was not, on the other hand, merely 
to cram young men with passages of Scripture and then 
set them adrift, fitted for a low form of immature evangel- 
ism. And yet, at the same time, while he would provide 
them with all available information regarding current 
and historic creeds and faiths, in order that they might 
be well rounded out in their chosen field and ready, if 
needs be, to answer intelligently on occasion those who 
might strive to mislead or perplex, he would make the 
chief equipment actual, intimate, personal knowledge of 
the writings of the Old and New Testaments. Where 
possible he would have the students expert in the original 
texts of the Scriptures ; where this was not possible, he 
would place before them the best that man had made in 
the way of Bible aids — discussions of obscure texts; 
illumination of well-known but misstated passages ; the 
best of concordances and text-books ; and all the in- 
strumentalities of man helpful to a knowledge of the 
vital thought of the Word. 

Above all else he would teach in such a school the 
simple faith of Christ, above all he would shun even the 
shadow of denominationalism. In two letters written in 
1867 when rumours were thick in the air that just such a 
school as this was to be established and when he came to 
hear from various sources that as soon as the prepara- 
tions for the Christian Biblical Institute were in proper 



306 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

shape financially, he would be called to its head, he used 
these words, bearing on the question of denominational- 
ism : 

" I love the < Christian ' principles (if I understand them) 
but I will not commit myself to any local prejudices existing 
among portions of our brethren whether at the East, or in the 
West. Moreover, as I joined the ' Christian Connexion ' be- 
fore the word ' denominational ' came into vogue among us, I 
do not consider myself as belonging to that word. It is to me 
a disagreeable word. 1 like the name Christian far better. 
That name expresses all I have ever desired to be. — Moreover, 
I like the name ' Christian ' best, in its widest sense. I deny 
in toto that any little connexion of one or two hundred thou- 
sand people, is ' the Christian Church.' It is an insufferable 
arrogance, in my view, for us to style ourselves so. 

"Still further, I believe in cooperation, — in fellowship in 
spirit and in work — with any people of the Lord who 
wish — or are willing — to work with us for Christian ob- 
jects. I have no fear of being swallowed up by any Christian 
people. And I think it entirely consonant — both with the 
spirit of Christ (which is the chief thing), and with the pro- 
fessed principles of our platform, — to extend Christian fellow- 
ship, and to cooperate in Christian work, to all — and with all, 
who for our Lord's sake seek it. — I preach wherever I find an 
opening. Within the last two months I have preached in 
churches of the 'Christian,' the Methodist Episcopal, the 
Unitarian, and the Universalist, denominations. My first aim 
(I do devoutly hope) in preaching anywhere, is to bring men 
to Christ. I am sure that my great object is not to set forth 
denominationalism of any kind. I preach out of an unde- 
nominational Bible, and I preach an undenominational Lord ; 
for though He is (as I trust) our Lord, I remember that Paul 
said, ' both theirs and ours.'' And so, as we hold our Saviour 
in co-partnership with all who love Him in sincerity, I am will- 
ing to be counted as a partner in any good word and work by 
any good man — whether of 'our denomination,' or of no de- 
nomination at all." 

" I could wish," in the second letter, "that some of our 
brethren (who I think hold a denominationalism not so free as 
yours) would talk less about ' our denomination ' and more 
about the work of Christ. 



THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 307 

" How strange it is ! Some of our brethren have their eyes 
turned back to the days when our pioneers were clearing away 
the rubbish — the debris of the outworn creeds — preparatory to 
building anew in grander proportions the temple of the Lord. 
It was a needful work in its day, and well done. 

"But now, some of our brethren think all our trouble (our 
denomination's trouble) arises from the neglect of our preachers 
to pitch into the Trinity as they used to. They don't seem to 
realize that after the pulling down has gone on far enough to 
give a fair field, there must be work of another sort done : that 
instead of pulling down forever, we must sometimes ' arise and 

build.' — Good brother •, a very good man, favoured 

us through the Gospel Herald some months ago, with his 
judgment that our ministers could not advance the cause of 
God until they contended earnestly for the faith once delivered, 
etc.. — that is, until they banged away at the 'sects ' after the 
olden time, and pelted the Trinity. 

" I think our denomination (or any other man's) can put the 
Tree of Life to better use than to chop it up into doctrinal 
shillalahs, for knocking out the theological brains of the 
Trinitarians. The minister most needed now in our day — (in 
my opinion) is not the smart debater and victorious con- 
troversialist but the man who somehow makes people think 
admiringly and adoringly of our Jesus." 

In another letter written a month or two later to a 
prominent preacher of the denomination he says : 

" You ask me, ' What stronger incentives to virtue, or mo- 
tives to Christian obedience, are found in the Hebrew and 
Greek Scriptures, than in our English version ? ' — That is not 
the way I would prefer to put it. If you were a Catholic with 
your Rheimish New Testament (or Douay Bible) in hand, — 
you might ask me the same question respecting that translation 
of a translation. And yet, among translations, a better is for 
some reasons preferable to an inferior one. What ' stronger 
incentives to virtue,' etc., — you might put in this form : Are 
there fewer blemishes, defects, marrings or distortions of the 
spirit's meaning in the English ' Common Bible,' than in the 
' Douay ' Bible ? The earnest soul can find the living water in 
both of them; — or, say, in the poorest translation ever made. 
Why, then, study the original Scriptures at all ? 



308 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

" But, brother, we live in a critical age — speculative, skep- 
tical, perhaps; — we want not merely prophets to move men's 
hearts, but also teachers to deal with men's perplexities, skep- 
ticisms, and the like, and chiefly — to take obstacles out of the 
way. One reads in his ' English ' translation that ' the love of 
money is the root of all evil.' (i Tim. 6 : 10.) No, he says, 
Paul is mistaken : sensuality, pride, are roots of some evil ; 
the love of money is not < the root of all evil.' But this man 
looks into the Greek, and finds Paul's words conveying this 
meaning (and not the meaning given by our translators) — ' The 
love-of- money is a root of all the evils,'' — namely those men- 
tioned already in verse nine preceding." 

In passing one may not fail to note how, in the midst 
of all the serious and important duties of his life, growing 
heavier with the years he never missed an opportunity 
to warm himself, and others, at the genial hearth of hu- 
mour. In a letter written at this period this finds quaint 
illustration. He was writing the letter on a railroad 
train. 

"I am returning from Marietta," — he writes, " oldest town 
of Ohio, you know. 

" I preached there yesterday — in a church built ten years ago, 
at a cost of $25,000, by Nahum Ward, — now in glory (as I sup- 
pose). Nahum was a prophet, and wished the testimony of the 
Lord to be continued at Marietta after his decease. Therefore he 
built at his own cost that beautiful church. The Lord re- Ward 
him ! His only son — known of men as William S. Ward, es- 
quire, — is the pillar (and steeple) of that church. William S. 
superintends the Sunday-school; his good wife teaches a 
class of boys ; and his only son, a youth of sixteen or eighteen 
years, serves as librarian. There were over eighty scholars at 
the school yester-morning. Fine rooms for the Sunday-school 
— in the church basement. Now go up-stairs. What a fine 
room for preaching and worship we have here ! Room here 
for 600 or 700 hearers. Pulpit opposite the entrance, with a 
very large picture over the minister's head, of Christ weeping 
over Jerusalem. — Not very suggestive of dry themes for ser- 
mons, that picture ! — Organ at the right side of the pulpit. 



THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 309 

People seem to prefer old-fashioned tunes, and congregational 
singing. Also, I learned that they have no prejudice against a 
minister's being a man of piety. 

" Now the bell ceases its tolling, and the minister (your 
friend) rises to the public service of the morning. Sees about 
sixty good people before him. — Has ' liberty ' in prayer and 
preaching, and a good time generally. — The same at the even- 
ing service, with an attendance of about eighty. — Preached 
about loving Jesus. — Had good attention, earnest feeling, and 
(apparently) some tears. Notice of the preaching had been 
withheld until after my arrival Saturday evening. Therefore 
some of the customary attendants may not have known of the 
service. They have no pastor now, but wish to get one. 
They would welcome a good man heartily ; pay him at first 
say $800 a year ; and give him what seems a good chance to 
work and grow — and do still better." 

In November, 1869, he prepared for the Gospel Herald 
an exhaustive paper on the proposed school, outlining 
his thought as to its plan. The paper was packed with 
sensible advice, and no doubt it had a marked influence 
on those who were to shape the school into form. ' ' The 
immediate locality of the Biblical School," he said, 
' ' should be a quiet, still, secluded spot ; yet near enough 
to one of our great thoroughfares to be conveniently ac- 
cessible to all who may wish to come. It might be well 
for the school to be near a good classical and scientific 
school ; yet not so near as to be in the same building ; 
hardly, even, in the same twenty-acre enclosure. The 
young prophets must have silence ! " 

He was an earnest advocate of some sort of manual 
labour for the pupils and among his recommendations 
was one that it might be well to have the institute lo- 
cated on a small farm. " Sweating from labour in the 
open air," he said, "is, if taken in moderation, the best 
preparation for mental effort, and the one thing upon 
which the Biblical School must rely as its safeguard 
against rearing a race of nerveless dyspeptics." He laid 



310 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

special emphasis upon the point that instruction in the 
school should embrace training for preaching and trainiDg 
for pastoral work. He took occasion, also, to say a few 
pointed words on the support of the proposed school. 

"Many of the churches of the Christian Connexion," he 
said, "are to-day suffering the depressing effects of a chronic 
illiberality in their pecuniary contributions. In some portions 
of our country the people known as ' Christians ' are not 
wealthy. But there are other portions of the country — per- 
haps in the East, as well as at the West, — where the Chris- 
tian societies are very wealthy, — are fearfully wealthy, indeed, 
considering how small a proportion of their wealth they use for 
the furtherance of the Gospel. . . . There is in many 
churches of our connexion a shocking neglect of the duty to 
sustain Christian institutions by liberal contributions of money. 
A portion of the responsibility for this unhappy disposition of 
these churches, rests — I suppose — upon some of the early 
preachers in our connexion, who, along with their message of 
Christian unity and Christian liberty, mixed in the unchristian 
and anti-scriptural notion that the churches make 'hirelings' 
of their ministers by paying them regular salaries sufficient for 
their support. That unscriptural notion has been the main 
cause (I fear) of the recent weakness and inefficiency of our 
connexion. Our preachers did an effectual work in freeing 
men's minds from reverence for human creeds and dogmas : 
but not a few of our ministers, though they delivered their 
hearers from their aforetime reverence for the dogma of the 
Trinity, failed to give prominence to the great positive doctrine 
that 'God loveth a cheerful giver.' " 

Dr. Craig was ever alive to the practical side of insti- 
tutional affairs and, with the example of Antioch before 
him, he wrote to a friend the letter from which these ex- 
tracts are made : 

" As I have 'counted the cost,' it must take about $20,000 to 
build, furnish and equip a theological seminary, — such as we 
might reasonably deem necessary for us; and about $50,000 
to endow the institution so that the instruction requisite for its 



THE CHBISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 311 

regular and preparatory classes, might be henceforth assured. 
— To secure these sums and to erect the building, — May we 
not suppose that it would take us from three to five years ? 

" Meanwhile, what should we do for a theological school? 
If we content ourselves with something under that name, but 
yet a meagre approach to what we need, is there not danger 
that the meagre and temporary substitute will become the per- 
manent institution ? 

" If our brethren should determine to have a school whose 
cost and endowment should be at least $70,000, and to give 
themselves five years to do the work, there is a method by 
which we could, immediately, have the advantages (in great 
measure, at least) of a good school of our own, and at the 
same time be training up two professors to take their places — 
with ripe experience — -in our school, at the end of the five years. 

" If our New York brethren would secure, say $1,200, annu- 
ally for five years, to make Brother Warren Hathaway a pro- 
fessor in the Meadville Theological School ; and, if our New 
England brethren would secure an equal sum to send some one 
of their strong and qualified ministers to occupy a second pro- 
fessorship at Meadville; I feel confident that the Meadville 
School would in that case, be very eligible to young men of 
ours desirous of preparing themselves by study for the ministry. 
I speak without authority, as uttering only my private judg- 
ment in this matter ; yet, I am persuaded that there would be 
no obstacle to such an arrangement as this, if our brethren de- 
sired to make the arrangement. — One thing further, I am 
moved to say. If also our churches would send to the Mead- 
ville School twelve or fifteen capable young men of mature 
convictions and real piety, their coming would be welcomed to 
the school (I am sure) as a happy accession to its life and 
power. 

"Need it then be feared, that we would lose all — professors 
and students — through the superior attractions of another peo- 
ple ? That would depend upon ourselves. It has been said 
that students educated at Meadville leave us, many of them ; 
while students educated in the < orthodox ' schools remain with 
us. It may be true. Certainly, students educated in 
'orthodox' seminaries would not be admitted to orthodox 
pastorates, without subscribing to a creed ; which the Unita- 
rians never require our young men to do. If our people did 
but pay their ministers so that a young man desirous of gain- 



312 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

ing means to improve himself, furnish himself a good library, 
and devote all his time to his work, could do so ; there would 
be fewer desertions from us. Until as a people, we learn that 
the labourer is worthy of his hire, and learn to pay ministers 
liberally — according to their needs, — we shall probably be 
called upon, from time to time, to chronicle the loss of our 
young ministers, whether they go to Meadville or not." 

At last the time seemed ripe for the founding of the 
school which had been the dream of the years. In all the 
denomination, now grown to be a powerful organization 
with far better preaching equipment than it had ever had, 
there was but one man to whom practically the entire 
denomination looked as the one best fitted to become the 
leader of the new school, and that man was Austin Craig. 
All the preliminary work of those who had been labour- 
ing along many lines culminated at a meeting of the 
American Christian Convention held in Marshall, 
Michigan, in October, 1866, when by vote of the conven- 
tion it was decided to establish a Christian Biblical In- 
stitute. 

In answer to the solicitations of his friends to accept 
the presidency Dr. Craig writes : 

"You say I 'ought to be willing that my friends use my 
name rather than the school be ruined.' Brother, I don't mean 
to seek the place (I am not a candidate), nor do I wish my 
friends to seek the place for me (that they may express their 
wishes and urge them, is not mine to deny) : if the place 
should come to me manifestly as a providential opening of duty 
(what we understand by a divine call) I have only to say, that 
I do ever hold myself ready to go where I am clearly sent. 
What more ought I to do ? I do feel indeed great solicitude 
concerning the school, and hope there will be no tricks em- 
ployed in its elections ; or if employed, I hope they will shame- 
fully fail, as they well deserve to do." 

"I am not a candidate for that place, and I would avoid 
doing anything which might make me seem as wishing to com- 



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THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 313 

mend myself. And yet, I have decided convictions respecting 
what is best for the Biblical School, and for us, as entrusted 
with a work for the Lord. 

"And, I feel sure that Brother s proposal to elect 

both of two certain persons, whose position and views are known 
(or supposed) to be incompatible, would strike the school with 
palsy in its very cradle ! Far better (in my view) the other 
alternative, proposed by Elder Coffin, that is, elect neither of 
the?n / 

" And, I wouldn't elect anybody until two professorships 
were fully endowed. As you write : ' Keep off the election 
— at least till we get $50,000.' Give time for counsels of 
wisdom and unity to prevail. ' He that believeth shall not 
make haste. \ 

"Under ordinary circumstances I would wish to attend that 
Newark Convention. I have attended every Quadrennial of 
ours. But I think I shall feel constrained to stay away from 
this meeting at Newark. So it seems to me at present. Do 
what is best for the work of the Lord ; pull no wires ; and leave 
the disposal of the matter to the Master on high. Of one 
thing I am sure; that /could not afford to undertake the charge 
of the proposed Biblical School, without the confidence and 
hearty support of all (or nearly all) the working interests which 
exist among our brotherhood." 



" As to your wishes — in my behalf — so kindly expressed, I 
accept them thankfully : yet, in so far as my occupancy of the 
place named is concerned, let me repeat to you that I could 
feel free to go thither to the work, only on the condition that a 
very general voice of our brethren should call me. I will not 
seek the place, though I could feel no little interest in such a 
work, — if our brethren should really judge that I could serve 
their Christian purpose there. 

"I judge from what I hear and read, that some of our 
brethren will hardly be satisfied unless a * denominational ' man 
(so called) is chosen to the place. I, therefore, decline to 
seek a place in the school ; because, I suppose, I am not a 
'denominational ' man. I wish to be wholly and only ' Chris- 
tian ' ; and, as I understand the olden time preachings of our 
connexion, ' Christian ' is decidedly undenominational — in the 
sense that I suppose our writers who cherish the phrase intend. 



314 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

I don't preach out of a denominational Bible, nor do I preach 
a Saviour who is strictly denominational. It is true, He is (as 
I trust) our Lord Jesus Christ ; yet I would remember that He 
equally belongs to all who in every place call upon Him, being 
'both theirs and ours.' You see, therefore, that I hold to 
partnership in so far as our Lord is concerned. And my 
ministry is not confined to < Christian ' pulpits. Let me give 
you — as a sample — the report of my preachings since the pres- 
ent summer began : 

(i) June 9. I preached for Elder McConnell in the Chris- 
tian Church in Yellow Springs. 
June 10. Addressed the ' Band of Hope ' in the O. S. 
Presbyterian Church in Yellow Springs. 

(2) June 16 (Sunday). Preached in the M. E. Church in Yel- 

low Springs. 

(3) June 23 (Sunday). Preached in the Unitarian Church 

(Mayo's) in Cincinnati. 

(4) Evening preached in your brother's church. 

(5) J u 'y 7 (Sunday). Attended Sunday-school, taught Bible 

(6) Class and preached twice in the Universalist Church in 
Springfield, Ohio. 

(7) J ulv 2I - (Sunday). Taught Bible Class, addressed the 

Sunday-school scholars, and preached twice in the 
1 Christian Church ' in Miami City, O. 

"I am glad — and ready — to go anywhere and preach the 
Gospel. The subjects were, respectively, these : 

(1) ' We must all appear before the Judgmenf-seat of 

Christ,' etc. (2 Cor. 5 : 16.) 

(2) ' Other foundations can no man lay than that is laid, 

which is Jesus Christ.' (1 Cor. 3 : 11.) 

(3) 'To us there is but one God, the Father, etc., and one 

Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we by 
Him.' (2 Cor. 8 : 6.) 

(4) ' These three — Faith, Hope and Charity.' (1 Cor. 

(5) John 21 : 1-14 (preparatory to the evening service, which 

(6) evening service, was on John 21 : 15-17, 'Lovest thou 
Me?' 



THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 315 

(7) ' To make all men see what is the fellowship of the 

mystery,' etc. (Ephesians 3:9.) 

(8) ' Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven, 

etc., the word is nigh thee,' etc. (Romans 10 : 6-9.) 

" I am not (I suppose) ' strictly denominational ' (are you ?) 
but 1 do wish and mean to be strictly and broadly i Christian.' 
I have always been connected with the Christian Connexion — 
feel more special attachment to them than to any other class of 
people ; want to see them do their own work without asking 
others for help in this Biblical School enterprise ; and would 
willingly help all I can — if the brethren should really and 
generally wish my help, according to your statement made to 
me in a former letter." 



Articles of incorporation for the new institution were 
at last prepared, a charter was granted by the state of 
New York, and Eddytown, Yates County, New York, was 
chosen as the site of the new school. The aim of the in- 
stitution was set forth in this fashion, "To help the 
students to search the Scriptures for themselves, with the 
aids and appliances of modern scholarship, and to qualify 
them for the free and untrammelled interpretation of the 
Holy Scriptures according to the individual conscience, 
without bias or prejudice, and to train them to be efficient 
ministers of the Gospel of Christ." 

It was announced also at the outset that there should be 
no charge, either for tuition or text- books. 

In the by-laws governing the institute as adopted by 
the convention, it was provided that no person should be 
eligible to, or retain a professorship in, the institute un- 
less he was not less than thirty nor more than seventy 
years old ; he must be a member of the Christian Church j 
must believe and maintain that the entire Scriptures are 
u given by inspiration of God," and that they are an in- 
fallible authority and guide in all matters of religious 
faith and practice. 



316 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

The principles of the institute preceded by a general 
statement, were thus formulated at the outset : 



The founders of this institution pray to be in fellowship 
with all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and in sympathy 
with all who strive to do good to mankind. They wish to be 
called (and to be) simply Christians. They trust they are 
one in spirit with the friends of Christ in every age and in 
every land. By the local and special elements in their 
history, the founders of this institute are connected with 
those Christians who, at the beginning of the present century, 
came out from the Methodists in Virginia and North Carolina; 
from the Baptists in New England, and from the Presbyterians 
in Kentucky. They preach the crucified and risen Saviour, 
and in His name exhort all men everywhere to repent. They 
also proclaim as truths needing to be particularly emphasized 
at the present time, the following general principles : 

i. — Christ, the Head of the Church. 

2. — The Holy Scriptures, the only sure and sufficient Rule 
of Faith and Practice. 

3. — Christian Character, the only true test of Christian 
Fellowship and Church Membership. 

4. — Love, greater than Faith or Hope. 

5. — The Name "Christian" the appropriate Name for the 
followers of Christ. 

6. — Private Judgment, in the interpretation of Scripture, 
the privilege of all Christians. 

7. — Congregationalism, the mode of Church Government 
best suited to the Spirit of Christianity. 



The qualifications for applicants for admission to the 
institute were condensed into a very simple statement : 
Experimental piety and belief in the Bible. Naturally 
all the prior education possible to be obtained, all the 
broadening and culture would be looked upon as helps, 
but no man was to be refused entrance without them. 
And no man was to be allowed admission under 
Dr. Craig who, recognizing that he was one of the great 



THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 317 

scholars of his day, should seek to enter the school for 
the mere help he would obtain in scholarship ; — no man 
was to be made welcome who was not avowedly seeking 
help to become a minister of the Gospel, or, if already 
ordained, looking for aid to become a more efficient 
preacher than he could ever hope to be without this 
training. 

On December 8, 1868, Dr. Craig was formally notified 
of his unanimous election to the presidency. He ac- 
knowledged the notification in the following letter to the 
board of trustees : 



" To Elder Latham Coffin, President of the Board of Trus- 
tees of the 'Christian Biblical Institute.' 

" Dear Brother : 

" I duly received your kind letter of December 8, 1868, 
officially notifying me of my election as ' Professor in, and 
President of, the Christian Biblical Institute, for five 
years. ' 

" This mark of brotherly confidence is very precious to me; 
and the sacredness of the charge which the trustees would 
commit to me, I deeply feel. At a former meeting of your 
board (as your letter reminds me) ' a vote was passed that 
professors accepting appointments must place themselves on 
the platform adopted in the by-laws of the institute. ' 

"This refers, of course, to what is said in the Sixth and 
Seventh Articles of the by-laws, concerning the aim of the 
instruction to be given in the institute, and the. qualifications 
of the instructors. 

"All that is said concerning the aim of the instruction, I 
heartily approve. As to the qualifications, I cannot feel so 
certain, and would not speak so positively. 

" I could willingly accept the post of service to which you 
have elected me, provided it should become manifest that our 
connexion generally wish me to occupy the post. Should it 
become thus manifest, and should the institute enjoy the con- 
fidence and active favour of all our conferences, I know of no 
post of duty that could more strongly attract me. 

" But, though holding myself in readiness to respond to any 



318 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

clear call of duty in this matter, I wish you to know that I am 
not certain whether my ' views ' are fully such as your Sixth 
Article requires. That they are not such, I do not feel able 
to say. I think I could say (according to my present light) 
that my views are such as your board could approve : at any 
rate, I am not aware that, in regard to any * generally-received 
views,' my sentiments are different from those of the denomi- 
nation at large. 

" Furthermore, I am not certain whether my convictions on 
the subject of the inspiration of the Scripture are in accordance 
with the intent of your Sixth Article. I sincerely believe that 
the spirit of God spake through the prophets of the Old Testa- 
ment, and through the apostles of the Lord Jesus. And 
throughout the twenty-five years of my ministry, I have be- 
lieved and preached that the Holy Scriptures ' are ' (as your 
Sixth Article states) ' an infallible authority and guide in all 
matters of religious faith and practice.' But, that Sixth 
Article requires every professor in the institute < to believe and 
maintain ' that, ' the entire Scriptures are given by inspiration 
of God.' I stumble at those four unbiblical words (' the entire 
Scriptures are.') The Bible passage says, ' all Scripture '; your 
Sixth Article varies from the Bible, and says, ' the entire Scrip- 
tures.' If this unbiblical phraseology was intended to cover all 
or any of the interpolations, or any mistakes of transcribers or 
translators, or any parts of the Scriptures for which the sacred 
writers do not claim or rather disclaim, inspiration ; then I 
should at once decide that I could not endorse the phraseology. 
I cannot suspect the trustees of intending to require of their 
professors an assent to any unbiblical idea ; and perhaps I 
stumble needlessly at the unbiblical words; yet, our brethren 
generally will hardly deem it strange that a minister trained up 
from his childhood in our connexion, should hesitate to accept 
any test words of faith, differing from the words of our divine 
and only creed. 

" Nevertheless, it is the plain duty of the trustees of our in- 
stitute (< Christian ' and ' Biblical ' may it truly be !) to induct 
no man into a professorship unless to him, Christ is head over 
all things to the Church, and all inspired Scripture an infallible 
authority and guide in all matters of religious faith and practice. 
Fitly has the Sixth Article of the by-laws made it the duty of 
the trustees to be satisfied that every professor * possesses all ' 
of the ' qualifications ' specifically required. 



THE CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 319 

" I would heartily wish (if I should have a teacher's place in 
the institute) that, not the trustees only, but also our entire 
connexion, should be satisfied that the teacher holds no views 
contrary to the truth of the Gospel. — Permit me, therefore, to 
suggest that it might be well, — if not for your own satisfaction, 
perhaps for the satisfaction of our connexion generally, — to 
examine the president elect concerning his views, on all points 
required by the by-laws ; requiring him to answer in writing, 
such written questions as a committee of your board might 
present ; or (if this would be more satisfactory), presenting 
him for oral examination in some public meeting of our ministers 
and churches. I do not seek the place to which the trustees 
have elected me ; and I am sure I would not wish to have a 
place in the institute, unless I could go to it feeling that I de- 
served the confidence and sympathy of every man who seeks 
the welfare of the entire brotherhood. 

" Should this letter be fully satisfactory to your board, and 
should you be able to consummate the business arrangements 
which your final acceptance of this letter would require ; I 
should consider myself under obligations to enter upon the 
duties of my office in the institute at your call ; — the necessary 
arrangements having previously been made. 

"But, while this letter may thus bind me, I shall not con- 
sider the trustees bound by their election of me at their last 
meeting. I wish you to be entirely free to do for the institute 
whatever may yet seem to you, or seem to the brotherhood 
best. For, whether I hold official relation to the school, or 
not, I expect to be heartily concerned for its welfare, and ever 
to pray God to bless the school, — its trustees, teachers, 
students, friends, — one and all. 

" Austin Craig. 

" New Bedford, Mass., May 18, i86g." 



While there were in the denomination which was to 
have immediate control of the new school for the training 
of men in the deep things of the Bible, some who, 
through jealousy or ignorance, covertly criticised 
Dr. Craig because, in their eyes, he had broken away 
from an orthodoxy which they thought essential and 
supreme, the great mass of the denomination, preachers 



320 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

and laity alike, were with him heart and soul, and his 
unanimous election by the board of trustees found a 
generous and heartfelt response in the denomination all 
over the United States. 



XVII 

THE CULMINATION OF A LIFE-WORK 

THE institute opened on October 3, 1869, in a 
single room in what was known as Starkey 
Seminary, at Eddytown, now Lakemont, New 
York. There was but a handful of students at the be- 
ginning, but large numbers were not expected ; — it was 
development for service on the part of those who should 
come that was sought, not agreeable statistics. 

For three years the school prospered in this location, 
slowly but surely winning its way into the confidence of 
those who sought an untrammelled place to study the 
Word of God. Then it appeared that it had outgrown 
its quarters and, providentially it would seem, a way was 
at once opened for larger usefulness. A farm with build- 
ings sufficient for the school's temporary accommodation 
was purchased in Stanfordville, Dutchess County, New 
York, a location which seemed to the trustees particularly 
well suited for the school in its enlarged sphere. In the 
fall of 1872 the institute was opened there, classes being 
held in the commodious and convenient Mansion House. 
When this arrangement became inadequate, Hon. David 
Clark, of Hartford, Connecticut, generously provided 
funds for two fine and spacious buildings, — the home for 
students erected in 1873, and in 1874, the institute with 
recitation rooms, library and chapel. 

Impressive ceremonies of dedication were celebrated 
on Wednesday, October 7, 1874. Prominent members 
of the clergy and laity of the denomination were present. 
The wide-spread interest in the school is indicated by 

321 



322 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

the geographical location of those who took part. The 
invocation was delivered by the Rev. John Ross, of 
Charleston Four Corners, New York ; the reading of the 
Scriptures by Rev. O. A. Roberts, of New Bedford, 
Massachusetts ; prayer by Rev. William B. Wellons, 
D. D., Suffolk, Virginia; address by Hon. David Clark 
of Hartford, Connecticut, presenting the gift deed and 
keys of the institution, with reply and acceptance by 
Rev. Isaac C. Goff, Irvington, New Jersey, president of 
the board of trustees ; dedication prayer, Rev. A. W. Coan, 
Marion, Indiana ; address by Rev. Austin Craig, D. D., 
president of the institute, with short addresses by Rev. 
Thomas Holmes, D. D., Union Christian College, Merom, 
Indiana ; Rev. Warren Hathaway, Blooming Grove, 
New York ; Rev. H. Y. Rush, Dayton, Ohio ; Prof. 
J. B. Weston, Antioch College, Ohio ; Rev. Moses 
Kidder, Woodstock, Vermont, with benediction by 
Rev. Thomas Henry of Oshawa, Canada. The com- 
mittee of arrangements consisted of Isaac A. Coe, Isaac 
C. Goff, David Clark. 

The institute now entered upon a new and en- 
larged career. With better facilities, with an augmented 
faculty, with larger attendance and with deeper interest 
on the part of the church, all things favoured still larger 
success. And great success indeed came in this the 
culminating life-work of Dr. Craig. All the years of 
preparation, a many-sided preparation, had united to 
fashion him for the position he now held. His broad 
and deep knowledge, making him on matters pertaining 
to the interpretation of the Scriptures an authority, one 
of the chief scholars of America ; his steadily growing 
power of teaching others not only what he himself knew 
but how to find out for themselves the things they did 
not know ; his splendid Christian manhood, now recog- 
nized wherever his denomination had a member and 



agM^^ 




CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INSTITUTE 

Stanfordville, New York 




STUDENTS' HOME 



THE CULMINATION OF A LIFE-WORK 323 

almost as widely among other people of the many varied 
faiths ; his steadfast adherence to the vital things of the 
Word of God and his fearless teaching of them ; his 
wonderful power in the pulpit, moving men and women 
not less by his eloquence than by the rare sweetness of 
his personality, — these and other attributes united to 
make him what he was, an ideal president of a school of 
the Bible. 

It is interesting to note, in passing, that he was selected 
because of his deep knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew, 
to be one of the American translators of the revised 
version of the Bible, but great and pressing duties pre- 
vented his acceptance of the place. Dr. Philip SchafT, 
who was president of the American committee on the 
revision, wrote frequently to Dr. Craig in consultation 
on difficult problems in the translation. 

All the time his influence was steadily widening. 
"What the Christian Biblical Institute has become," 
wrote the Eev. Isaac C. Goff, president of the board of 
trustees, at the end of the first ten years of its life, i i un- 
der Dr. Craig's wise, prudent, unselfish, laborious, and 
godly care, I may not attempt to tell. Its development 
has been simply wonderful, amazing ! What Dr. Craig 
has done for it and us, cannot be told. The noblest 
things which the soul can reach and know we cannot 
talk of ; they belong to an intercourse where human lan- 
guage is not a medium." 

Many men prominent in the religious, as well as the 
strictly theological, world, visited Stanfordville to hear 
Dr. Craig in his addresses before the students. Henry 
Ward Beecher was asked to give a Bible lecture at the 
institute. His characteristic answer was : 



" You have a man up there, Austin Craig, who knows more of 
the Bible than all the preachers of Brooklyn. Whenever I have 



324 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

met that man I have felt like taking a stool and sitting at 
his feet and listening to his words as long as he would talk 



At the beginning of the school's history there were 
only three regular professors, Dr. Craig, Dr. Warren 
Hathaway, who was non-resident, and Professor Selah 
Howell, though there was a staff of eight well-known 
members of the denomination — Pike, Ross, Summer- 
bell, Goff, Maple, McConnell, Spoor, and Grimes, who 
acted as visiting lecturers. When the new building was 
completed it was needful that there be more professors. 
In 1880 the faculty consisted of Dr. Craig, president and 
Biblical lecturer ; Rev. R. J. Wright, LL. D., Meta- 
physics, Moral Philosophy, and Church History ; Rev. 
Warren Hathaway, A. M., Homiletics ; Rev. Martyn 
Summerbell, A. M., Pastoral Care ; Rev. Alva H. 
Morrill, A. M., Greek, English, and Music; Rev. Asa 
W. Coan, lecturer on Parliamentary Law. 

The day's work at the institute was a full one. There 
were, each day, lectures on the Bible, daily readings in 
the Greek Testament, lessons in Hebrew to such as 
wished to go deeper into the Old Testament, together 
with all the work of the other departments. In one 
school year early in the history of the institute Dr. Craig 
noted in a communication to one of the denominational 
newspapers that there were eight hundred and forty-nine 
hours of actual teaching work and about one-half of the 
whole time was given to the study of the Scriptures. 

As the school progressed, while none were received as 
students unless it was with an avowed purpose to stay at 
least a year and with the recommendation of two min- 
isters in good standing of the Christian denomination, or 
that of two of the board of trustees, together with the 
approval of the resident professors of the board of in- 



THE CULMINATION OF A LIFE-WORK 325 

struction, others could avail themselves of the benefits of 
the lectures free of charge. 

During the first ten years seventeen states and the 
Dominion of Canada were represented in the institute. 
The influence of these young men going out from under 
such teaching and from the splendid personality of the 
man who was at the head of the institute cannot be given 
estimate in words. Very many letters came to him, 
many others came to his family after his death, from those 
who were students under him, and while his magnificent 
scholarship is not ignored in recognition of his power, the 
noble character of the man himself seems to be most 
dwelt upon. 

Here in the midst of congenial surroundings, the great 
aim of his life to teach others to teach the Bible to men 
found daily fruition. No one could consider the breadth 
and scope of this man's many-sided character without see- 
ing how powerful a figure he might have become in other 
directions had he chosen paths that led to more conspic- 
uous positions ; for Austin Craig had the flexible nature 
and endowment backed by an unusual breadth of culture 
that would have made him preeminent as a man of let- 
ters, as a great jurist, or as a master of diplomacy and 
statecraft. But his eye never swerved from the path of 
duty, and duty led him not where the bugles played but 
where the call to service came along the peace-marches 
of the Master. 

In the year 1879 a sad and crushing blow came upon 
Dr. Craig in the death of his wife, June 24th. She had 
been for a time in poor health and yet so devoted to her 
family, so ever ready to comply with all the social and 
semi-official requirements falling to the lot of the wife of 
the president of such an institution, she nerved herself to 
follow the line of duty long after she was too ill for such 
service. In February of the same year Dr. Craig had 



326 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

been very ill and her constant attendance upon him 
night and day saved his life, as he put it, at the cost of 
her own, for he traced much of her failing health to the 
severe strain then placed upon her. These two had 
laboured side by side, the one supplementing, as in all 
perfect human unions, the other. It was a peculiarily 
poignant grief which filled his heart when out of his life 
and out of the lives of the little children which had come 
to them was taken one of the sweetest spirits and one of 
the noblest women ever given to bless the home of any 
man. 
One who knew her well and long writes : 

" She was not only faithful to every duty as wife and mother 
but added to her faithfulness a rare intelligence, keen wit, bril- 
liant scholarship, an undying love of all noble things, great 
gentleness of spirit and manners, modesty and purity, and an 
affection that was ever seeking to express itself. A noble 
woman ! He was no more than worthy of her and well he 
knew it. When she died the cry of his heart was, ' The light 
of my life hath clean gone out.' " 

Many were the calls made upon his time and strength, 
but possibly the very frequency and urgency of them 
helped in some measure to assuage his grief. The mani- 
fold duties of his position were heavy and increasingly 
arduous, and as in all the earlier years of his life-work, 
he was constantly giving of himself to others, not only 
those under his own immediate care but those who ap- 
pealed to him from afar for help, many of whom his eyes 
never saw. In the midst of such pressing duties imagine 
the man turning aside to write an extended letter to a 
young man in which, after thorough and searching advice 
as to his entering upon the duties of the ministry, showing 
him how, even without funds he might pay his way at the 
institute and settle for himself whether or not he was 



THE CULMINATION OF A LIFE-WOKK 327 

called of God to preach His Word, he answers a request 
for an explanation of a text, to the young man obscure, 
as follows : 

" You ask me to ' explain First Timothy, second chapter 
and fourth verse, for your benefit and for the benefit of others 
in your community.' The words in Timothy are these: — 
1 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the 
knowledge of the truth.' — Let us open the Greek Testament, 
and try to study the passage in its words, and in its connections 
of thought. 

"This second chapter exhorts that, first of all, supplications, 
prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made by the Church 
on behalf of all human beings (the Greek word anthropon 
means humans), — especially, on behalf of kings and all per- 
sons who are in eminent position; in order that we may pass 
through a tranquil and undisturbed life in all right-piety and 
gravity : for this supplication on behalf of all humans, is 
beautiful-good (the phrase is awkward English, but it hits the 
sense of the Greek Kalori), and acceptable in the sight of our 
Saviour God who willeth all humans to be saved and to come 
into acknowledging of truth. For God is one, and there is one 
Go-between 'twixt God and human beings, human Christ 
Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom on behalf of all (humans, 
aforesaid) \ — the testimony whereof, to come at proper seasons 
(say, in God's own good time). Unto which testimony — 
(namely, that God is the God of all, and that there is one Go- 
between 'twixt the one God and the entire Human race), — I, 
Paul, was appointed Herald and Apostle, — a teacher of nations 
in faith and truth. 

" In this passage our Paul runs into his favourite doctrine, — 
the favourite doctrine (we might even say) of the whole 
Antioch school of 'Christians,' as distinguished from the cir- 
cumcised and sometimes Judaizing disciples of our Lord in 
Jerusalem and Judea. Many of those Pentecost disciples con- 
tinued long in the prejudice in which as Jews they had been 
reared, that God was the special possession of the children of 
Abraham. Under the covenant by the hand of mediator 
Moses, the family of Jacob were for a time the only people of 
King Jehovah ; and the nations of the world were aliens and 
outsiders. But that Mosaic covenant could not be eternal, be- 
cause it did not make the fullest and highest possible revela- 



328 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

tion of God. Indeed, Moses never saw God's face, and the face 
is the full revelation of the true being. Judaism was vailed 
out, and could come into the Divine Presence only in a figure, 
when the high priest entered once a year into the earthly 
'Holy of Holies.' — But in the one Mediator of the whole 
Human race, the vail is taken away, and all the Father is 
revealed by the spirit of the Son of God sent into the hearts of 
those who receive the Son. 

"The blessings of this new and better covenant are not 
limited to one elect nation chosen out of the seventy nations of 
mankind, but these blessings are thrown open to the whole 
human race. In Paul's testimony this universality of the new 
covenant in Christ Jesus, is the characterizing feature. Paul's 
apostolate was not specially to the people (of Israel), but to 
1 the nations 1 of the world. Paul's special testimony in 
Christ's name is, that, God is not the God of the Jews only, but 
also of the Gentiles (the Greek is nations). In a word, the God 
and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the God of all Humanity, 
— of every human being. 

" Beware here, that you do not take the word ' man ' — or hu- 
manity — in any later Socinian sense. Our minds are so full of 
this later ' Humanitarian ' controversy, that we are in danger 
of overlooking the high sense which the word ' human ' or 
' man ' bears in Paul. With the mere ' Humanitarians ' to say 
that Jesus was a man, was to deny the highest characteristics 
of His being, — to lower Him, in fact, while, with Paul, the 
word ' man ' is used in contrast with the narrowness of mere 
Abrahamic-flesh relations. When Paul said, ' One Mediator, 
human Christ Jesus,' he presented our Saviour as world-wide, 
broad as human nature itself, in His flesh-nature ; and not 
narrowed within the birth-range of Abraham, or Jewish, 
flesh. 

"In this preference of Paul for the world-wide, humanity- 
wide view of Christ, he followed Jesus Himself, who would not 
be known as Son of David — as a Jew, or son of Abraham ; but 
preferred to speak of Himself as ' Son of man ' — child of hu- 
manity. I would not call Jesus ' a man ' ; but would gladly 
think of Him as human, as being in all His manifestation in 
form and relations to us, the full, complete, yea, divine, glori- 
fied, perfected human ; imaging the God which indwells and 
thus, comprehending all humanity — every human being, in the 
plan and range of His salvation. — But, now, perhaps, these 



THE CULMINATION OF A. LIFE-WOKK 329 

words of mine may seem to you to need explanation quite as 
much as Paul's passage, i Timothy 2 : 4. — Well, if so, try 
again ! Yours cordially, 

"Austin Craig." 

Following are examples of the demands, and the an- 
swers to them, which were constantly being made upon 
him. They are taken from letters written with his own 
hand, often after great weariness of body and mind, in 
time snatched from the pursuit of his regular duties. 

"If our school had 100 friends who had been in it as you 
have, and who could feel towards it as you do I would feel 
little concern for its pecuniary future. If our school can live 
until the 100 have been sent forth, it will then continue to live 
(God willing) ! So many institutions get the rickets while 
teething ! Yet, I don't feel discouraged or alarmed. Our 
eighteenth student came this night a week ago. We expect 
two more anyhow before the school-year ends. And David 
Clark was here a week ago, and that is equivalent to the loss 
of the indigo-bag any time. As a consequence of his coming, 
there is now a heap of stones — (daily enlarging) on a beautiful 
spot near our present school-building ; and soon there will be 
50,000 brick, and timber, and slate, etc., and a house 60x30, 
two stories above the basement, and a steeple or dome, and 
sweet-toned bell in it. ( ' Blessed are the people that know the 
joyful sound ! ' ) 

"You enquired lately concerning 'Home's Introduction,' 
etc. The last (English) edition in four volumes, octavo, would 
cost (I suppose) nearly twenty dollars. Cheaper editions can 
be found, especially old American reprints of the work of twenty 
or thirty years ago — dear at any price. (Don't read an old 
edition of a work which has been brought up to date in im- 
proved editions.) If you study the Statistics of the United 
States, get the last Census Report, rather than an older one : 
especially if you wish to understand the present state of affairs ! 
It wastes time (and misleads) to read a poor book. And any 
book is a poor book — no matter how good it was in its day, — 
if the progress of knowledge in the field which it purports to 
cover, has been carried forward greatly since the book was 
made. Let the antiquated editions (all the American ones) of 
1 Home's Introduction ' severely alone ! " 



330 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

" Your letter of July 19th asks me to give ' a brief idea ' of 
what Jesus meant when He said to Nicodemus, ' Ye must be 
born again ' — ' born of the water and spirit.' 

" Well, notice first that the Evangelist John (the sole nar- 
rator of Jesus' Conversation with Nicodemus), — begins the 
narration with the significant statement that Nicodemus was ' a 
man of the Pharisees ' — ' a ruler of the Jews.' 

"The 'Pharisees' were to Judaism in that day, what the 
Jesuits are to the Papacy in our time • — the everywhere active 
zealous partisans, propagandists and proselytists. They under- 
took the world-wide missionary work of bringing the Gentiles 
(the nations of mankind) into the Church of Moses and the 
Rabbis. Jesus said that the Pharisees would ' compass sea and 
land to make one proselyte.' And He added : 'When he is 
made, ye make him twofold more a son of Gehenna than 
yourselves.' (Matt. 23 : 15.) 

"The true missionary of faith seeks to bring men into the 
fellowship of God : the proselytist is satisfied to gain adherents 
to his sect. In the Abrahamic spirit and seed there was spir- 
itual life, — having its beginning in that Faith in God, which 
God counts for rigiiteousness. The Abrahamic kernel of 
Faith had for its protection until the fullness of the time came, 
the shell of Mosaism, — a great system of parabolic things and 
acts and institutions, by which the fellowship of man's spirit 
with God the Spirit, was symbolized and made impressive to 
the senses of the worshipper. The strength and the weakness 
of Judaism were here — in that, by setting forth heavenly things 
by earthly ' patterns ' it both revealed God and concealed Him. 

" To the spiritually-minded, Mosaism became a transparency 
showing the things heavenly ; while to the carnally-minded, it 
became a veil hiding the things of God by means of material 
forms. Thus, the spiritually-minded Gentile could find the 
faith of Abraham and the righteousness of God, by means of 
the Mosaic symbols ; while a born-son of Abraham's flesh, 
might fail to find the spiritual life altogether, and become no 
better than an idolater — by failing to look through and beyond 
the mere letter — the material part of Mosaism. To make men 
sharers of the Abrahamic faith and righteousness, was the 
noblest missionary work of a glorious Pharisee — such as Saul 
of Tarsus (Paul of Cyprus) ; while the work of proselyting 
Gentiles to the mere shell and material outwardness and selfish 
interests of Judaism, was the work of the 'blind Pharisee/— 



THE CULMINATION OF A LIFE-WORK 331 

such as Nicodemus had been ; a work in which the proselytist 
and his proselyte — the blind leader and the blind led, — both 
fell into the ditch. 

"To commune with the Holy God, the worshipper must 
first be cleansed. Completed cleansing employs the three 
agents ; * the Blood ' (of the Altar of Sacrifice), « the Water ' 
(of the Laver) and ' the Spirit ' (of the innermost shrine). 
These three, 'the Spirit, the water, and the blood,' — do bear 
witness on earth that the thrice-holy God of heaven is seeking 
to purify for Himself a peculiar people, who may become par- 
takers of His holiness and sharers of His heaven. 

"The real purifier of man's spirit, is the Spirit of God. In 
the days of the Messiah, the spirit was to be poured out to all 
flesh. Mosaism pointed onward to the Messiah — and prepared 
the people for His coming. Mosaism could typify purifica- 
tion, — but the Holy Spirit was not given until the Son of God 
was glorified. Mosaism could take the Gentile to the brazen 
altar, and by blood could represent the divine forgiveness of 
the sins that were past : — next, Mosaism could take the wor- 
shipper (say) to the brazen laver, and by the washing of water 
could represent and signify the cleansing of the man from his 
Gentile nature — his whole inheritance of defilement from his 
fallen ancestry. 

"In making a proselyte, — in naturalizing the proselyted 
Gentile into the Church of Israel, a noticeable part of the cere- 
monial consisted anciently in the washing, by which the defile- 
ment of the Gentile birth-state was washed away, and the 
proselyte became a clean man of Israel. — And it appears that 
the Jews were accustomed to speak of the washed (or baptized) 
proselyte, as being then new-born into Israel. For they counted 
all his former life in heathenism as no life at all ; considering 
him as a new-born babe the day he was baptized into Israel, 
and ' born of water. ' ' ' 

" I do not 'regard the Bible sufficient without notes or com- 
ments.' No book in the world requires for its full unfolding, a 
wider range of learning. The deep student of the Bible (if he 
would become an expositor of its deep things) needs to become 
— in considerable measure — a Chaldean, a Hebrew, an Egyp- 
tian, an Arabian, a Persian, a Greek, a Roman, — a geographer, 
a historian, a linguist, an ethnologist, a metaphysician, — and a 
saint, through the sanctifying spirit of the Son of God. The 



332 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CKAIG 

Bible is God's book to man: or God's library : for there are 
sixty -six books — written through a period — from first to last — 
of fifteen or sixteen centuries. To understand the all-sided 
fullness and depth of the Bible, we require nothing less than 
the all-sided intelligence of the Family of God through all 
ages. 

"And yet, every human soul may find its own salvation 
fully made known. A little child may find its way of life and 
peace — in a few simple verses. Sometimes (oftentimes) it takes 
hardly more than a verse or two to save a soul : but thoroughly 
to furnish the man of God for ministry to the Church, — and 
fully to equip the Church, as God's witness through and to the 
ages ; the whole variegated, manifold wisdom of God — in the 
whole range of its length and breadth and depth and height, from 
the Divine Beginnings in Genesis, to the Divine Unveiling in the 
Apocalypse ; — all is needful. And who is sufficient for these 
things ? Far be it from me to think the Bible an easy book ! 
A plain man may find his salvation therein ; but yet, to com- 
prehend its range and fullness, something more than an honest 
purpose, and a Bible ' without note or comment ' is requisite. 

" I hold therefore of inestimable value for understanding the 
oracles of God — the Holy Scriptures (next after the Holy Spirit 
and its tuition in the things of God) — all that now abundant 
and providential array of grammars, lexicons, concordances, in 
the sacred tongues, — in Hebrew and Greek. God has provi- 
dentially prepared these choice languages of Shem and Japheth 
to be the vehicles of His Word to Mankind. And He has 
gifted and raised up men to make dictionaries and concord- 
ances — with an appalling amount of labour — bringing down at 
last, even to ordinary people of sense, the best results of high 
Hebrew and Greek scholarship, in those blessings of His good 
providence — the Englishman's Hebrew Concordance, and the 
Englishman's Greek Concordance. 

"A little study will enable any one, by the continued use of 
these works, to gain the larger part of that critical knowledge 
of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, which has until recently 
been the almost exclusive possession of scholars in Hebrew and 
Greek. 

" I hold it incredible at the outset, that any one man should 
be competent to write a commentary of high value on all the 
books of the Bible — or all the books of the New Testament, 
When you seek a valuable commentary on the whole Bible you 



THE CULMINATION OF A LIFE-WOKK 333 

must seek a work in which many workmen of God have la- 
boured together. Shun a sectarian commentator — a man who 
finds his denomination and creed in the Bible and not much 
else — shun him, as you value the Truth of God. And shun 
men who pretend to have found out the great secret of God — 
which has been hidden from His Church universal through all 
Christian ages, until Doctor Ego, of the town of Self-Conceit, 
found it all out for the first time twenty or thirty years ago ! " 

"What you request me to do, cannot be suitably done within 
the compass of a short letter. Your questions deal with some 
of the most difficult parts of Theology. If I should answer 
fully, you might tell me that you did not ask me to write a 
pamphlet, but only a letter. . . . But on a subject so dif- 
ficult, brevity becomes obscurity : and short answers to your 
questions might expose the answers to the risk of being misun- 
derstood. 

" My ' view on the state of the dead,' does not differ in es- 
sential points (I suppose) from the general view of the Church 
in all ages. If I have any special way of setting forth my 
'view,' so as to seem different from other Christians, it would 
probably be due to the fact that in psychology I am a Tri- 
chotomist. — Man represents the three heavens, and (as created 
at first) his body has its life from his soul, his soul from his 
spirit, and his spirit from the eternal fountain in the bosom of 
God. When Man was created, then * the heavens were fin- 
ished,' as well as 'the earth ' ; and man, made to show forth 
the glory of God, was not made subject to death, as (all) the 
animals were. He was indeed made capable of falling out of 
his first estate of life, and falling under the power of Death. 
And he did so fall. Inwardly, he fell out of fellowship with 
the Spirit of God ; and, outwardly, he fell out of the heavenly 
part of the Earth — out of the suburb of the Paradise of God, 
losing his privilege of eating of the Tree of Life, by whose 
virtue his flesh had been kept in incorruption. 

" Driven out from his Paradise, Man carried forth with him 
the promise that ' the seed of the woman ' should bruise the 
head of that ' serpent ' which had the influence of temptation 
and the power of death. At the postern gate of his lost Para- 
dise, God placed for Man's hope a visible sign of His Justice 
and His Grace: placing at the east of Eden < the cherubim,' 
and the Flaming Sword turning ever upon its own centre (Eze- 



334 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

kiel's ' Fire unfolding itself) — to keep for Man * the way of 
the Tree of Life,' — God and the Heavenly Powers keeping for 
Man, against the day of redemption, his forfeited privilege of 
Incorruption. 

" This visible reminder of the heavens, represented at the 
postern gate of Adam's Paradise, was the first sanctuary of 
Man's worship as a sinner — as a fallen heir of life. Nothing 
now (from Adam) can reach the Tree of Life, without passing 
under the Sword. Here in this awful presence, Abel's faith 
brings a type of the Lamb 'slain from the foundation of the 
world.' The Blood of the Lamb cleanses the believer from sin, 
and reopens the way to the Tree of Life. . . 

" Afterwards, in the sanctuary of Israel, the same truth was 
represented again. The < Holy of Holies ' in both the Taber- 
nacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon, continued a repre- 
sentation of the postern gate of Adam's Paradise. There 
were ' the cherubim ' overshadowing, and between them the 
ineffable light shone forth : ready to be a sword of fire to smite 
the unworthy with their unhallowed offering, and ready to 
smile a favour better than life, upon those who approached ac- 
ceptably. . . . This great lesson runs through the volume 
of the Divine Testimony : the last book of the sacred library 
closes with the reopening of that postern gate of Eden. The 
guardian heavens and the flaming sword have kept the way of 
the Tree of Life for Man, until the redemption of the purchased 
possession ; and now, they that have washed their robes and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb, shall have right to 
the Tree of Life, and shall be where there is no more death." 

" Brother M fears that ' peril ' may come to us from the 

agitation of questions concerning Inspiration. Agitation may 
come; but not 'peril,' if we faithfully hold our old ground. 
We take the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments 
as our only and sufficient rule of religious faith and practice. 
The Scriptures are our rule ; they command our obedience ; we, 
Christians, strive to live and walk according to this rule. We 
have no other rule; we confess this 'sufficient.' Whoever 
practically, and in his practice, holds this confession, stands on 
Christian ground. 

" Whoever preaches the Scriptures as the rule — only and 
sufficient — of the faith and practice of Christian men and 
churches, preaches like a Christian, He may have a theory of 



THE CULMINATION OF A LIFE-WORK 335 

Inspiration, if he have intellect enough to frame one for him- 
self, or the good fortune to find a suitable one framed by others. 
As to theories of Inspiration, he may think Bishop Lowth's the 
best; or, perhaps, Dean Alford's; or, Gaussen's; or, some 
other good man's. A man might honestly take either of them, 
and yet stand fully on our ground. 

" There are different degrees of knowledge among ministers ; 
theories vary, as knowledge differs in degree. But ministers 
of all varying degrees of knowledge must bow to the only and 
sufficient rule. They may have any theory of Inspiration, or 
none at all, as the case may necessarily be — to the honest con- 
clusions of each man. He who rejects the Bible as his only 
and sufficient rule, rejects the platform on which we stand. 
And he who should set up any theory of Inspiration as a test 
of fellowship among us, would step off the Christian platform 
and become a sectarian." 

"I have not written you since brother Garfield became 
President elect — a result which satisfied me well. And now, 
if only the several party-leaders in the Republican party can be 
brought to cooperate for the welfare of the nation, I see noth- 
ing to prevent the final break-up of ' solid South ' and ' solid 
North,' and the attainment of solid union — solid prosperity — 
solid America, — providential means to the final establishment 
of that only enduring and eternally solid polity whose length 
and breadth and height are equal. 

" If Garfield can bring the South into the Union, the Demo- 
cratic party may then permanently go into written history from 
Burr to Kelly. But I hope there will be a sharp lookout kept 
by the scratchers upon the Conklins : — the ' Boss ' business be- 
longs to the Democracy. 

" The border states must unite the North and South in union. 
I have heard that the ' Christians ' of the ' Campbellite ' order 
are disposed to vote for their own men. It is said that your 
aforetime Governor Bishop owed his election to the votes of his 
* Disciple ' brethren. And I noted recently that in the late 
election, Kentucky fell short of her anticipated Democratic 
aggregate by 20,000. It is said that there are 600 ' Christian ' 
churches in Kentucky. (I think the census of 1870 says so.) 
The 600,000 ' Christians ' of Brother Garfield's sort, are mostly 
along the border line between the North and the South, from 
Missouri to Virginia. I hope that among those 600,000, Gar- 



336 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

field knows one or two men fit for ' Cabinet ' use, and hundreds 
who will heartily favour the generous and uniting policy which 
I hope he will adopt. I expect no post-office ; for my sect are 
not Christians of the same sort as Brother Garfield's Christians ! 
Would to heaven there were but one sort of Christians in all 
the universe and that sort — the best ! Do I then think that all 
Christians would be of my sect? By no means; they would 
all be members and organs of the one Christ — the Lord and 
Head of all. 

" But I meant to write you a letter, not a harangue" 



XVIII 

THE MAN 

FREQUENTLY in a consideration of the life of a 
man of affairs the world is apt to lose sight of the 
personality, the man as he appears to family and 
intimate friends. Now and again in the range of biog- 
raphy, a great man's life scarcely suggests treatment from 
this point of view. It may be that the weakness of his 
human nature drew him into paths whose description is 
scarce printable ; it may be that he lived in isolation, 
personally a quite colourless life j it may be that his in- 
tercourse with his fellow men and the more intimate rela- 
tions of the home were marred by a distressing personality 
that needs no other comment than such as a kindly ob- 
livion offers. 

But in the case of the subject of this biography, the 
matter stands wholly different. In all his personal life 
he preserved the same splendid characteristics that dis- 
tinguish his public career, save that they were softened 
and made more tender by the intimacy of human love. 
Dr. Craig was particularly beloved by his family to whom 
he was counsellor and confidant, companion and pattern 
and guide ; at once the most dearly loved person in the 
world and the most reverenced ; while he in turn with 
the great father love of his heart was as devoted to them 
as they to him. An old student recalls the familiar pic- 
ture of Dr. Craig on his way to the village post-office 
with one child in a little cart and another on his back — 
seemingly enjoying the fun as much as they. It was this 
ability to throw off cares and worries and enter into the 

337 



338 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

interests and enjoyments of those around him that kept 
him young in heart. 

No matter how heavily duties pressed upon him, he 
took a deep and active interest in every detail of the 
family life, particularly when some member of the little 
flock growing up around him was in any real or fancied 
trouble. To him the sorrows of childhood were not mat- 
ters for light and disparaging treatment, to be hushed up 
with sweetmeats or checked by harsh words. To him 
they were vital features of the child life. One day — as an 
illustration — a homeless cat made its way to the hearth 
that was never aught than generous to man or beast. 
The cat became a much loved pet in the family, of which it 
remained a member for many years. It fell ill at last, for 
age advanced, and the children were much concerned. 
Especially distressed was the little boy, who could not 
bear to go to bed in the evening until his father had told 
him he would take care of his pet during the night and 
try and keep it from pain. So, knowing how it would 
bring comfort to the child, the father stayed up through 
the long night ministering to the sick cat until it died at 
the dawn. Even in the midst of the severest mental 
strain, when every ounce of reserved force was drawn 
upon for the prosecution of his public duties, he was 
ready and eager to do this humble service. 

For two days the cat's body lay in state wrapped in a 
white sheet in a passageway leading to the wood-shed. 
Then there must be a funeral with appropriate singing 
and remarks and a burial under an apple-tree on the 
lawn. The boy chose the text — " All flesh is grass!" 
Dr. Craig made the occasion an opportunity for saying 
some most beautiful things on the need of kindness to 
animals. The cat fell into history, his life being described 
by Mrs. Warren Hathaway in the Illustrated Christian 
Weekly then under the editorship of Dr. Lyman Abbott 



THE MAN 339 

Austin Craig early inculcated the principles of self-re- 
liance in his family. He taught his children to accept 
their due responsibility for the results of their actions 
instead of shouldering them upon some one else, or upon 
Providence. In emphasizing this point in an address he 
said : ' ' My children were very sick last night ; some 
might call it Providence, but it wasn' t ; it was unripe 
cherries !." 

He was passionately devoted to all that was beautiful 
in nature and in books, and the radiation of his own pro- 
found understanding and appreciation stimulated this 
love in others. As soon as his children were old enough 
to begin to understand he placed before them the rarest 
verse of the centuries. Frequently he would call them 
about him and read to them from Homer, adapting with 
the facility of a great scholar the story of the poet to the 
mind of the child. Now and then he would read and 
paraphrase or explain to them selections from Plato, ever 
simplifying, but never distorting. 

A lady who was a guest in the home, an author of note, 
was much amused to hear the little four-year-old pipe up 
in response to the question what the evening's reading 
should be— " I like the < Iliad ' best." 

In a letter to Mrs. Horace Mann, written in 1880, Dr. 
Craig says : 

" I want my children to have a few years of real childhood 
at home, to romp and play and shout, and play with dolls and 
make playthings with a whittling-knife, and be with each other. 
There are enough of them to make plenty of company for them 
all. At evening I often open the doors through a circuit of 
rooms and hall in this large house, and then the children all 
have a race and romp playing 'Old Witch' and 'Fairies,' 
laughing and puffing and screaming and sweating until they are 
tired ; and then we read j that is I read to them. They have 
heard all of Jacob Abbott's books, sixty or seventy volumes, 
read, — many of them over and over again. I have just finished 



340 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CKAIG 

reading to them Hue and Gabet's ' Travels in Tartary and 
Thibet.' We read Herodotus before that and part of Dr. 
Thompson's new edition of the 'Land and the Book.' Dr. 
Kane's report of his arctic life was very interesting. ' The Swiss 
Family Robinson,' and the * Pilgrim's Progress ' have been read 
over and over many times. And the story of Joseph and other 
Bible stories come up often. They are interested in real things 
and in good books." 

Called away from home on any journey, he kept in 
constant daily communication with his loved ones, send- 
ing them the most minute as well as interesting details of 
the events transpiring around him. The letters to his 
children are full of the father love as well as replete in 
interest to the childish mind. The following well illus- 
trates this : 

" Peapack, New Jersey, Sunday Evening, June J, '77. 
"Dearest Mamma and Dear Children — All : 

"Mamma's letter of June 1st came Saturday evening. 
We here are all well. Grandma will get well again. We went 
to see her this afternoon. She does not mean now to come 
with me when I come to you. I think to start next Tuesday — 
perhaps in the afternoon from Bernardsville. Then I cannot 
be with you before Wednesday morning. 

" Moses is in bed now — asleep; and so are all the people in 
the house — except me. It is after ten o'clock. Before he 
went to bed Moses read to me out of the Bible — how the Ark 
of God was taken by the Philistines, and how they sent it back. 
Moses went with me to church this morning; and this afternoon 
he and I went to see Grandma. Mrs. Auble had baked a nice 
little cherry pie in a saucer, and she sent it to Grandma by 
Moses. Grandma was much pleased, and she gave Moses a 
fine orange, which Moses did not wish to take from Grandma ; 
but she wished to give two oranges. After we came back 
home, we had a good rain, and now it is cool, and the grass 
looks greener than ever. The grass is very pretty this year be- 
hind the house, and the trees grow big and leafy and make 
shade over the grass. The strawberries have begun to ripen, 
and the ' snow balls ' are very big and many. And now, the 
yellow roses do out- yellow everything ! 



THE MAN Ul 

" After I came back from church I was in the east orchard, 
lying down on a heap of mown grass under an apple-tree by 
the brook, and the little turkeys all came right up to my hand, 
as if they thought I was there to feed them. But the mother 
turkey did not come so close. I counted them, but now I can't 
think whether they were sixteen or seventeen. Mr. Auble has 
two nice little pigs in a pen, and he gives them clean water to 
bathe themselves in every day. But the big pig in the barn- 
yard will lie down in the dirty water, and muddy herself all 
over ; and then Moses comes with a long stick and rubs her 
and scrapes her, and she lies down and grunts as if she liked 
it. I think I will tell Moses some time that pigs would like to 
be washed and combed ! 

" But the cleanest things about the barn are those two fat 
little kittens. To-night the mother cat brought one of them 
down to the house with her, and they both came in. She did 
not carry it ; it is now too big to be carried ; she called it — and 
it came along. Then Mr. Auble took them back to the barn 
to the other kitten. 

"Last evening Moses and I went to the brook to bathe. 
After we were back again in the house, Moses found on his 
hat a locust not yet out of its shell. It was one of the seven- 
teen-year locusts. They come up now out of the ground here, 
and the woods and old orchards are full of them. To-day I 
broke a little twig off an apple-tree, — a very little twig — and 
on it I counted fifteen shells of locusts, — one of which I send 
you with this. They live in the ground most of their life, and 
when they come out, they cannot fly, but can only crawl. 
They crawl up on trees, or on stalks of any kind, and after a 
while they burst open their shell and leave it dry and empty, 
while they get wings and fly away. When Moses was at the 
brook bathing, he set his hat down on the ground under a big 
tree, and when he came home there was a locust crawling on 
the top of his hat. I took the crawler gently off upon my 
finger, and it crawled up to the tip of my finger and held fast, 
and was still. Then Mr. Auble and Henrietta and Moses 
came to the table and watched it with me, for thirty or forty 
minutes. After it was still for eight or ten minutes, it began 
to draw itself up, shortening itself and becoming thicker. Then 
we began to see a little band up and down on its back, which 
grew wider and wider till it opened, and then the locust slowly 
pushed its head and body out of the shell. At first it was al- 



342 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

most white, except its reddish-brown eyes, and two curious 
black spots on its shoulders. When it came out, its wings 
were two little bunches, one on each side, and it had no use of 
them for a while. Then it began to shake them out slowly 
and they opened first like a blade coming out of a jack-knife; 
and then they spread out like a fan, getting wider and longer 
very fast. I think it was not more than ten minutes that the 
little bunchy wings, not bigger than a grain of buckwheat, had 
come to be an inch long or more and smooth and glossy. 
The wings, too, were white at first, but this morning they had 
got to be blackish like the other locusts', and to-day our locust, 
which on the tip of my finger was changed from a crawler into 
a flyer, flew away to make his part of the horr-horr-horr y 
which all day now we hear around us. Seventeen years of its 
life it lived without wings in the ground ; now for six or seven 
weeks it will live in the air and sunshine on the trees; it will 
then lay eggs in the green twigs of the trees, and then the 
locusts will all die, and no more be seen of them in this place 
until seventeen years have passed away, and the year 1894 
shall come. But before that year perhaps some of us may 
leave the earth and fly away. 

"Now good-night, you dear ones — all, and may the heav- 
enly Father keep and bless you all. 

"Papa." 

In a letter from Peapack, Easter Sunday^ lie writes : 

" I hope it will be pleasant weather this week so that the 
little ones and dear mamma can walk out around the door, but, 
dear least ones, don't paddle yourselves wet in the puddles. 
Papa sends kisses to dear mamma and each of the dear little 
ones — and heavenly Father keep you all ! " 

" My dear Boy Moses : 

" Your little brother sends hereby his first letter to you. 

"lam glad that you are punctual in your school duties. 
Keep up the good habit and go into the company of good boys 
only. Attend church, read your Bible and seek to please your 
heavenly Father in all things. 

"I am sorry to hear 'the little boy will never walk again.' 
It is a great mercy of the Lord that we are all well and can 
walk and do everything we would. Now, we all must use our 



THE MAN 343 

hands and feet, and our minds and hearts to love the Lord, 
and to do every kind and right and good thing that we can 
find to do. 

"I went out at eleven o'clock this forenoon and climbed the 
hickory tree near the meadow gate and shook it and then I 
picked up almost half a bushel of fine and large hickory-nuts, 
and I picked a barrel of large sweet apples from the tree across 
the lawn. 

" Write me all you have upon your heart for I will do all I 
can to help you ; but fail not to seek the help of your heavenly 
Father. 

"May His blessing be with you ! 

"Austin Craig." 



This little boy Moses was named for his grandfather, 
Moses Craig, whose father, grandfather, and great-grand- 
father had all borne the same name. Dr. Craig used to 
say jokingly, " Moses is named for his fore (four) fathers," 
and often spoke of the importance of good ancestry, that 
it was something to be thankful for to come of a line of 
good, clean, upright men and women. He said : u It is well 
to be born again, but it is a good thing to be born well the 
first time." 

The accompanying facsimile letter illustrates not only 
his understanding of child life and its interests but shows 
how admirably he could stimulate interest by the char- 
acter of the letter itself. 

From the very many characteristic letters to his little 
flock these additional paragraphs must suffice : 

" Dear Ones : 

"lam glad to hear that you are all well. All well here, 
and very beautiful weather. 

" I send by this mail the book, ' Mary, Queen of Scots.' I 
hope you will all try to make the best use of your opportunity 
to learn. Tell my dear little Autie to try hard and learn his 
lessons ; they will be of great use to him when he has the work 
of a man to do. 



344 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

" His flower plant (Lady's slipper) by the front door here, 
escaped the frost and has grown very pretty and is in full 
flower now. And Rachel's almond tree is still green and grow- 
ing. I turn a barrel over it every night. What are you all doing 
now every day ? Can you keep warm ? Barefoot days are 
ended for the season. Don't let the little people be out in cold 
winds and dampness. Yesterday I picked a bushel of grapes 
and laid them up until you all come. 

" My love to you all — dear children. May the heavenly 
Father keep you unto His service and love forevermore ! 

" Papa. 

"Tell Josie that I saw the little kitten last night. It does 
not seem well. I patted it kindly for her." 

" The strawberries are beginning to ripen. Tell the dear 
little ones there is a cat-bird's nest in the apple-tree by the 
corner of the back porch ; a wren's nest in the back porch ; a 
robin's nest in the honeysuckle bush ; a dove's nest in the big 
pear-tree ; gray squirrels in the woods ; and the old hen has ten 
little chickens, only two days old. The dear little things ! " 

" I picked a large handful of very large ripe strawberries yes- 
terday off the new bed. Wish I could have put them into some 
little mouths I know of. 

" My dear little seven-year-old ! Seven kisses from your 
papa ! And you can give them on your birthday to your dear 
mamma and brothers and sisters. 

"All the cats are well and there are many little chickens, 
three calves and eleven youngster pigs." 

And then the letters of love ! Many of them there are, 
letters of the long ago, written in the glow of youth ; in 
maturer years when love grows broader, but who shall 
say deeper? — letters of affection to an aged, dim-eyed 
mother, waiting calm -faced for the Last Dawn ; letters 
written of the dead ; letters from the heart of a noble man. 
They prove him, were it needful, rich beyond measure in 
that which reaches out beyond the short love-times of 
earth and takes hold on immortality. 

Dr. Craig exemplified the Bible injunction to use hos- 



litis morning &ef ore sun <rtse 
1 went down t> tHe me*.<Lw a.nd picked. u/> a.peck of hickory- 
■nuts for- my little souirrels Tt> ea.t next winter-. T have 
ga.Fhtred a.bou.t a. "bushel 3-nd a,haulf — kzlf s. laurel- 
of Ttice niclcory: nuts , a.ncL Some butter-nuts . JLid-st 
evening L bWked the Reaches off the bea.c?L:tree 
before our South- oZoor. They were vert/ nice 
-large , smooth, sweet, yelloyr-fb'iiljbecL, >vit/L 
recL cheeks. There pre re /uro lushels &&Aa2fi 
.enouoh to ^f ill £L 7>3-r>re.l. I took U. o-r S dozen. 
of the Zieoest R.nd J>rettiest ones clown, to 
Mr. Merrills hoo.se last evening j& ti'day X 
tho£ a. nice la-s^et-Jall £ Me dihner~/a22e at jfte 
'Student* 'fame ? Mrs. J5a.rr*# VMrs.Dreu, ar* 
hour caL/inc*i£ ffi& 7 % e#ia.tn/na he*e%es ^for- tts. 
The trees Are very Irio^t A ere,- 7*4 d &ye7Zo*t Sffiur/tZe. 
$tow,ls*nd fosse? &7oi>e To Autie V XsLcheLvMo s *s 
tfAdie- V $r2-ndma- t feo. May tie h 'ea.ven(y Fattier keefi 
Vltess you all/ " PAPA '.' 



THE MAN 345 

pitality without grudging. Friends smilingly recall the 
time when he invited an entire audience at the Institute 
Building to adjourn to his home for supper, there being 
scant time for them to go to their homes and return for 
the evening services. About seventy-five availed them- 
selves of his invitation ! 



" Some twenty-five years ago, more or less," relates Mr. 
Edwin L. Goodwin, of Boston, Massachusetts, "I arrived at 
Stanford ville, N. Y., one dark and rainy evening. Alighting 
from the train I learned I had to wait until the train passed out, 
to get to the town. 

" While waiting I noticed a gentleman standing a short dis- 
tance from me holding a perforated tin lantern containing a 
lighted candle. 

" I asked a lad in what direction was the hotel ? He replied : 
* Across the track,' and pointed in its direction. The gentle- 
man with the lantern came to me and said : ' Pardon me, did 
I hear you enquire the direction of the hotel ? ' I answered, 
' Yes, sir.' He said, ' When the train leaves — if you will per- 
mit me — I will light your way.' 

" After leaving the station I enquired, Is not this Dr. Craig ? 
Receiving an affirmative answer I asked whether Dr. A. H. 
Morrill was in town. After informing me that he was not, he 
enquired whether I was acquainted with Dr. Morrill, also where 
I was from and what was my name ? I told him I knew 
Dr. Morrill. I was from Boston, Mass., and my name was 
E. L. Goodwin. He immediately repeated E. L. Goodwin 
several times, then said : ' If your name was Edwin Goodwin 
it would mean " Winner of Good." If it was Edward Goodwin 
it would mean " Good won." ' I remarked that my name was 
Edwin, but I had not yet attained to the definition. Later he 
said, ' There is another hotel here to which I would recom- 
mend you.' Suspecting his intention to entertain me, I thanked 
him but declined to act upon his suggestion, and requested that 
he show me the hotel for which I was looking. 

" Soon we arrived at a building. It was the mansion house 
occupied by Dr. Craig. He invited me in, apologized for being 
alone (all his family were away from home at the time) and in- 
sisted that I remain with him. He took me out to Mr. Car- 



346 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

man's to tea and later to one of his inimitable lectures, which 
he delivered to the students that evening, the most wonderful 
historic lecture, delivered without notes, to which I have ever 
listened. 

" After the lecture we returned to the house, and sat down in 
the library, before an open coal fire, which he had kept alive by 
raking out the ashes, a half bushel or more, on to a Brussels 
carpet. This was done unconsciously, his mind being occupied 
with his great work and his books rather than house furnish- 
ings. He entertained me until the small hours of the morning. 

" After breakfast, which we had at good Brother Carman's, 
he showed me over the property of the Christian Biblical In- 
stitute. 

" He continued his interesting conversation while he walked 
with me a mile nearly to Bangal Station where I was to take the 
train. 

" This was my only interview with the most courteous, 
hospitable, entertaining host I have ever met and my only op- 
portunity of meeting the wonderful teacher, Rev. Austin 
Craig, D. D." 



It was the custom of Dr. Craig to bring the students, 
upon their arrival, to his home for the first few days or 
in some cases even weeks and also when they were ill or 
in trouble. One year each student in turn was invited to 
spend a week as a member of Dr. Craig's family. 

On one occasion at the dinner table, mention was made 
of its being the first time in several weeks without guests. 
While this was being commented upon, some one looked 
up and saw two strangers approaching with satchels. 
Extra plates were speedily provided and the guests were 
met and welcomed. 

The keeper of the village inn was instructed by Dr. 
Craig to provide at his expense lodging or meals to any 
needy person unable to pay for them. 

One day, a tramp who had travelled many miles came 
to the door saying that away up in Connecticut he had 
been told to follow the railroad till he saw the college 



THE MAN 347 

with the golden cross and near by lived a good man who 
would give him something to eat. 

An old man who knew Austin Graig in his early man- 
hood relates an incident which well illustrates another 
phase of his many-sided personality. It was on an Ohio 
river steamer bound for Cincinnati. There were at least 
three hundred passengers. The captain learning that 
Dr. Austin Craig, then president of Antioch, was on 
board, invited him to hold a preaching service. The an- 
nouncement was made and Dr. Craig spoke in the dining- 
salon, which was crowded with a motley throng. The 
subject was u Breaking off our Sins." 

Directly in front of Dr. Craig sat a cattle drover, 
dressed in his rough plainsman's suit with long boots 
above his knees, a broad-brimmed hat resting on one 
knee and his big stock whip lying across it. He was 
plainly somewhat the worse for whiskey, but he paid 
close attention and endorsed the speaker's views with 
frequent exclamations of " That's so ! " "I know that ! " 
" Sure ! " to the evident surprise and amusement of some 
of the audience. 

When, however, they saw that the preacher was not at 
all disturbed, they quieted down and resumed attention 
to the sermon. In his talk Dr. Craig laid stress upon the 
point that men in sin thought they would some time re- 
form, could reform, indeed, when they had " a mind to " ; 
but that the time came at last when habit had conquered 
the will, when they were bond- slaves in a free country, 
and had lost the power to reform, and no help was left 
save through Christ. 

He then related an incident in his own experience. 
In college he had become addicted to the use of tobacco. 
One Sunday morning he was to preach on "Self-denial." 
As was his custom he was walking in the fields in the 
early morning, thinking over his sermon. He reached 



348 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

into his pocket for tobacco, when it suddenly occurred to 
him that this habit, which was both disagreeable and 
expensive, was scarcely permissible in a man who was 
going into the pulpit to preach self-denial. He thought : 
1 ' You hypocrite ! You do not deny yourself. How can 
you urge self-denial upon others? 7 ' 

His first impulse was to send word to his congregation 
that he was sick, for he had no other sermon prepared, 
but the unfairness of it all came over him ; he offered a 
quick prayer for help, threw the tobacco as far as he 
could ; went into his pulpit ; told the incident ; preached 
his sermon on self-denial, and used tobacco no more. 
The story, related in the simple yet powerful way that 
made this man famous wherever he preached, had its 
due effect upon the congregation and upon none more 
than upon the cattle drover, who after the service shook 
hands with the preacher and expressed his determination 
to "quit whiskey." 

In this necessarily brief and incomplete description 
of the man one must not lose sight of his methodical 
ways, his accomplishment of much by means of strict 
use of all the moments. He used each hour as though 
it were the only hour. Other hours might come to him, 
— that was for the future to decide ; there was but this 
one hour that was known to be available for service. To 
him waste of time was hard by grievous sinning. He 
did not, however, lose sight of the fact that there must 
be cessation from labour, relaxation, variety, change in 
lines of thought, for these were essential to renewed use- 
fulness. 

In the diaries which he kept he was peculiarly precise 
and exact, noting with the utmost limit of condensation 
the daily events. In a leathern bound book he set down 
early in his ministry certain rules which are so apt and 
characteristic that they are here reproduced. Dr. Craig 



THE MAN 349 

in writing always used a quill pen. Facing the pages on 
which these rules appear he wrote : 

" Ye are not your own ; ye are bought with a 
price; wherefore glorify God in your bodies 
and your spirits, which are Sis. J) 



PROPERTY 
" The silver and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of Hosts." 
i. Do not be careless of Money or Value. 

2. Retrench as much as possible : but not at the sacrifice 

of Health or Duty. 

3. To ask myself, Do I need this ? And will it be worth 

to me what it costs ? 

4. Avoid expenditures for trifles. 

5. In Buying or Selling, deal in a manly and Christian 

manner. 

6. " Owe no man anything." 

7. Keep a correct record of all business transactions. 

8. Do business in a businesslike way. 

9. Leave nothing at "loose-ends." 



9- 

letter. 



CORRESPONDENCE 

Be careful what you commit to paper. 

Avoid letter-writing tattle. 

Make the F s as small as Christian modesty requires. 

Write as usefully as possible. 

Be frank and faithful in letters. 

Keep letters one day before mailing, if, etc. 

Be duly respectful. 

Be prompt to reply to letters received. 

Read these rules, or remember them, before beginning a 



PREACHING 

1. " Preach the Word "—the Truth that Saves, 

2. Don't preach too long sermons. 



350 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

3. Cultivate dignity of manner. ... It is the 

Lord's message. 

4. Avoid all words and statements that would not seem 

becoming in the mouth of Jesus Christ, were He the 
preacher. 

5. Mention as little as possible controversies and con- 

trovertists. — Always respectfully. "Michael the 
archangel, when contending with the devil, durst 
not bring a railing accusation against him." 

6. Be pointed, earnest, evangelical, faithful to Christ's 

message, and to human souls. 

7. Study the models in the New Testament, Jesus — Paul. 

8. Preach plainly : that all may understand. 

9. Give to all their portion of meat in due season : but 

especially "Feed the lambs." 

10. In every sermon, if possible, address something to the 

Young. 

11. Make thorough preparation for the Pulpit. 

12. Enter the Pulpit in the name of Jesus Christ. 

13. Be ready to preach, whenever and wherever there is a 

desire to hear. 

14. Preach as much as is advisable. 

15. Study the methods and history of those who have 

been successful in "turning many to righteous- 
ness." — But do not become a mere imitator of 
others' ways. 

PASTORSHIP 

1. Have a list of the families and names of the congrega- 

tion, and visit among them regularly. 

2. Make the visits as profitable as possible. 

(1) Converse if possible upon Divine themes. 

(2) Endeavour to interest and instruct the 

children. 

(3) Take some good reading-matter to them. 

(4) Encourage them to procure good books. 

(5) Don't make the visits too long. 

(6) As far as possible, pray with the families. 

3. Look after the young people : especially those who are 

in service away from home. 

4. Embrace opportunities of visiting the sick and those 

who are in affliction. 



THE MAN 351 

5. Try to make peace. 

6. Frequently read the list of the names of the congrega- 

tion — eiziakoizeiu. 

TIME 

"Redeeming the time. 11 

1. To do the most possible of the highest use. 

2. To use the most favourable hours in doing the best 

works. 

3. To have some work always on my Register, with which 

I may occupy the otherwise unemployed moments. 

4. Am I engaged in anything which I can as well omit? 

5. Can I properly abridge what I am doing? 

6. Plan for to-morrow : What to be done, What visits to 

be made, etc., "if the Lord will." 

HEALTH 
" The Body is for the Lord." 
Avoid unnecessary exposure. 



Clothe warmly and exercise forethought. 

Bathe enough for cleanliness and vigour. 

Avoid an excessively warm room. 

Breathe a pure atmosphere. 

Exercise enough for Health. 

Keep the person erect. Expand the Lungs. 

Beware of night-study. 

Retire early to bed. Nine o'clock? 



Dr. Craig was in advance of the age in which he lived 
in other lines than theology. He was deeply interested 
in science at a time when it was not always considered a 
minister's duty to know science as well as the Bible, 
when, in fact, science and religion were by very many 
held to be sharply antagonistic. On one occasion he took 
with him to Albany, New York, a number of the young 
people of his Blooming Grove parish in order that they 
might attend with him the annual meeting of the Amer- 



352 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

ican Association for the Advancement of Science, an or- 
ganization in whose proceedings he always took deep in- 
terest. 

Dr. Craig always showed the most tender consideration 
for his mother and loyalty to her little personalities. 
Dr. Hathaway tells how during one of his visits when 
Mrs. Craig had just left the room, he turned to her son 
with the question, "How old is your mother? 7 ' The 
reply was, " Why don't you ask her ? " "I feared she 
might not think it polite of me," said Dr. Hathaway. 
" She wouldn't have told you if you had," said the son. 
"And neither did he," was Dr. Hathaway' s laughing 
comment. 

Dr. Craig was unique in his methods of dealing with 
students when called upon to settle their difficulties and 
to restore harmony. 

The hour for his afternoon lecture was three o'clock, 
but a new student thought it would better suit his own 
convenience to have the lecture at one o'clock, and so 
informed the student whose duty it was to ring the bell, 
requesting that the change be made. The bell-ringer re- 
fused to make any change without instructions from Dr. 
Craig, to whom the new student then carried his request 
for a change of hour. Dr. Craig mildly replied he would 
come for his lecture when the bell rang. Back to the 
bell-ringing student hied the dissatisfied one with orders 
to ring the bell for the afternoon lecture at one o'clock. 
By this time the bell-ringer was out of patience and re- 
plied with some warmth that Dr. Craig's lecture had 
always come at three o'clock and he wasn't going to 
change the ringing of the bells for every Tom, Dick and 
Harry who asked him. The student in much excitement 
hastened to Dr. Craig with the complaint he had been 

insulted, that Mr. B had called him Tom, Dick and 

Harry. 



THE MAN 353 

At the close of the lecture that afternoon Dr. Craig 
turned to the student who rang the bell and said : 

" Brother B , Brother complains that you 

called him Tom, Dick and Harry. When you have oc- 
casion to refer to those worthies again, suppose you say 
Thomas, Eichard and Harrison ! ' ' 

Dr. Craig was a man of singularly beautiful character, 
combining with the rare and sweet qualities of his life, 
manliness and power. He was one of the most winsome 
as well as the most talented of men. There was nothing 
unkind or ungenerous or unchristian in his nature. He 
was ever tolerant of the belief of others, always broadly 
and sanely liberal. He was for years conspicuous in his 
denomination as an apostle of freedom of thought, abso- 
lutely fearless in his presentation of the truth, no matter 
how it suited others ; and yet, while he was so liberally 
inclined that he sometimes may have incurred the dis- 
pleasure of some of the ultra orthodox, he yet adhered 
with a fine and strong consistency to what he considered 
the essentials. 

His life was singularly pure and sweet, his personality 
was most charming, his character was full and noble, his 
scholarship distinguished, his learning profound. 

In personal appearance Dr. Craig was tall and very 
spare of frame but with a fine carriage — the man you 
turn to look at a second time as the throng goes by. 

One time when Dr. Craig was visiting the Connecticut 
Legislature as the guest of Hon. David Clark of Hartford, 
one of the members came to Mr. Clark and asked him 
who was the man with the two -story brain. 

Perfect care of his person was a part of his nature — 
his dress was distinctive but never obtrusive and he wore 
it as a gentleman. He appreciated neatness in others. 
In writing to his wife concerning a Chinese servant he 
was sending from New York to the family's summer 



354 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

home in New Jersey, he said: U I hope he will take 
kindly to scrubbing and that he will begin with his 
teeth!' 7 

"It is the fortune of few men," writes Professor Selah 
Howell, "to be able to bring to the battle of life such physical, 
mental, and moral endowments as Austin Craig inherited. A 
favourite saying of his was that ' blood tells in men as well as 
in horses ' ; and of the truth of this he himself might well have 
boasted. 

" From the father he inherited height, both of body and 
head ; from the mother, a fine-grained, wiry organization ; and 
from both, those intellectual and moral powers that made him 
the man we loved and honoured. Mr. Craig's tall and rather 
thin form suggested frailty of constitution. But his organiza- 
tion was of unusually tough material. Silk, steel wire, entered 
into its composition — material that would bend, stretch, but not 
break, unless forever. 

"His head and face would have arrested attention in any 
company of men. They were of that cosmopolitan cast that 
gives no hint of age or race. You thought, as you studied 
their lineaments, of Jonathan Edwards, Mendelssohn, John 
Stuart Mill, William Ellery Channing, and Victor Hugo. It 
was the face and head of a man equal to any intellectual feat, 
and an intensity and loftiness of spiritual exaltation rare among 
the rarest. 

"He was a noble gentleman, whose keen wit, brilliant con- 
versational powers, and gentle, kindly manners were conspic- 
uous as rfls profound knowledge of great subjects and spiritual 
insight were remarkable." 

In a letter written from Aix, France, in February, 
1908, Mrs. Julia J. Irvine, formerly president of Welles- 
ley College, speaks in terms of deep appreciation of Dr. 
Craig. She had for some time, while a student, been a 
member of Dr. Craig's household, and she had not failed 
to feel his powerful influence. To one of Dr. Craig's 
daughters she writes : ' ' That a suitable memorial of 
your father's life and work is in preparation will be good 
news to all his friends. I wish very much that I might 



THE MAN 355 

have even the smallest share in honouring your father 7 s 
memory. The kindness received from him and your 
mother, at a turning point of my development, was very 
great and very j udicious j their example was an inspira- 
tion and a continuing ideal of life." 

Eich in splendid character ; instinct with all desire to 
aid the world ; kind to every being and to every living 
creature ; bearing heavy burdens but never shifting them 
upon the backs of others; democratic but yet aristo- 
cratic ; beset with bodily weakness and pain but facing 
each day with a calm brow; loyal to his heart's last 
drop ; — is it not a rare life, worthy to be patterned among 
men? 



XIX 

IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 

IN the year 1880 Dr. Craig was married to Dr. Sarah 
J. McCarn, of Rochester, New York, a woman of 
fine qualities, of strong character, of deep sympathy 
with his life-work, a woman greatly beloved in the city 
in which she lived and by all who came in contact with 
her. An invalid in her younger years, she became, on 
restoration to health, eager to devote her life to the cur- 
ing of the ailments of others. Under the presidency of 
Horace Mann she had been a student at Antioch College, 
and, after her course there, entered, and was graduated 
from, the Woman' s Medical College of Philadelphia. She 
entered practice in Rochester, — the second woman physi- 
cian in that city, — and won her way not only into a large 
and lucrative practice but into the hearts of the people. 
She joined the Christian Church while a student at Antioch 
and was a constant, and generous, contributor to the 
various denominational interests. She paid the expenses 
of several students of the institute. She was twice 
chosen a member of the board of trustees of the institute, 
once in 1880, for two years ; again, in 1882, for a term of 
six years. 

The Biblical Institute was now at the highest point of 
service it had reached. It was Dr. Craig's practice to 
prepare each year for publication an announcement of 
the coming year of the institute with various data as to 
its progress, needs, and the like. On September 1, 1881, 
such an announcement from him appeared in the Herald 
of Gospel Liberty. The following paragraph suggests the 

356 




DR. SARAH McCARN CRAIG 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 357 

earnestness of his purpose in every minor detail of the 
work of the institute — he could not so much as send out 
a formal announcement of the school without using some 
word that should arrest and hold the attention : 

" Persons already ordained to the ministry will be welcomed 
as students for a single year, if their circumstances forbid a 
longer stay. But the trustees and teachers especially desire to 
draw to the institute persons who will take the full course. 
Students who have plenty of time for thorough preparation, and 
who are capable of enthusiasm for the Greek Testament, will 
be welcomed in both Greek and English. Our Christian con- 
nection will go on crutches until a goodly proportion of our 
young ministers shall attain the twofold qualification of the 
Holy Spirit in the heart and the Greek Testament in the 
pocket." 

But on the same page with this announcement over his 
own name, appeared another one, the announcement of 
his death. Stricken with mortal illness he had died 
within a few hours. The thousands of people who had 
come to know this man personally, the tens of thousands 
who knew him through his life-work and word, were in- 
expressibly shocked by this swift ending of the noble life, 
scarcely yet in its prime. On the 26th of August, 1881, 
he was at work in his usual health around the lovely 
grounds of his home at Stanfordville. He had been 
gathering fruit and working among the flowers in his 
garden, the flowers he so passionately loved, until late in 
the evening. Before he went to bed he read aloud to his 
children, strangely enough, Plato's treatise on death. 
While yet the night was young he was suddenly taken 
ill, and within an hour or two it was apparent that the 
end was nearing. 

Would you learn how such a man dies? How, after a 
life of the noblest service to his race, unfolding behind 
him like some splendid tapestry in whose fadeless weav- 



358 LIFE AND LETTEES OF AUSTIN CEAIG 

ings all the future might learn of his deeds, — how such a 
man meets the last enemy ? 

Listen to these words from the pen of his long-time 
friend, Dr. Warren Hathaway, Dr. Craig's successor, and 
to this present day still the pastor of the Blooming 
Grove Church : 

" He received the announcement that his last hour had come 
with perfect calmness and with that sweet smile that so often, 
like a ray from the inner glory, lit up his wonderful face. As 
self-possessed as he ever was, and with all the deep, deathless 
love of the father, the son, the husband, and the Christian 
beaming from every feature, he then addressed his assembled 
family. All were there, the aged mother and the six children. 
Death seemed to wait, to pause at the door, as he tenderly took 
by the hand each one of that mourning circle and gave them 
his dying counsel and his blessing. At that supreme moment 
his mind was as clear as his love was fervent, and he was per- 
mitted to address wise, affectionate words to all. What pre- 
cious memories must forever remain of that death-bed scene ! 
The little ones, the three youngest — oh ! how his father's 
heart clung to them ! And his aged mother — it was hard to 
say * farewell ' ! Yet how abundant the grace and how sweet 
the presence of the Redeemer that enabled him to say, ' Fare- 
well, until we meet at home ' — meet in the eternal home ! 
Calmer than any one there, he gave his last advice, his parting 
kiss to each one, and asked that the children repeat the Twenty- 
third Psalm, then raising and spreading wide his hands he 
blessed them, closed his eyes, and slept in Christ." 

So passed to his newer and higher life-work a noble 
man, one of the distinct, powerful forces of his day and 
generation, friend and counsellor of great men, friend 
and counsellor of common men, beloved by an ever-in- 
creasing number ; for day by day, unto this hour, his 
name, his words, his influence are being handed on — his 
life like a flaming torch passes ever forward to light the 
way of other lives up the path that leads to the Master. 

The more deeply one studies the life and work of this 




DR. WARREN HATHAWAY 

Who succeeded Dr. Craig at the Blooming Grove 

Church, and still remains its pastor 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 359 

man the more one is impressed by the universality of the 
love he commanded from those early days when as a 
college student he first began to preach and write con- 
cerning the Word of God, all along the brilliant path- 
way of successes to the swift close of his life. Surely 
there must have been something wondrous fine and 
tender and noble in a life which through the years should 
draw so many comparisons from those who came to know 
him best, comparisons between this human life and the 
life of Him he so humbly and ardently served. 

It would be a physical impossibility within the bounds 
of this volume to attempt to give place to the expressions 
of regard and esteem which came from so many sources 
after the death of Dr. Craig. These which are subjoined 
must serve as types of those which may not be used : 



Rev. Warren Hathaway : "I write this at the request of 
children who revere the memory of an affectionate father, and 
of friends who honour the name of this earnest, saintly man. 
Hence it is a labour of love — a leaf from the memory of the 
heart. 

" In 1863 there was quite an important gathering of clergy- 
men at Med way, Greene Co., N. Y., in attendance on 
some church function. It was a meeting of interest to that 
rural community, and at the first public service, Mr. Craig 
gave the discourse. I shall never forget his introduction. His 
text was 1 Cor. 13: 13, 'Now abideth faith, hope, charity, 
these three; but the greatest of these is charity.' 'These 
three ' — why three ? Perhaps because of the grand divisions of 
the earth — as then known. Perhaps because of the three 
representative nations and languages of the world — the He- 
brew, Greek and Latin. Perhaps because of the divisions of 
the human mind, the sensibility, intellect and will. 

" He secured our attention by this original preface, and held 
it for an hour by his simple eloquence and by his clear state- 
ments. It was the first time I had heard him ; and though I 
listened to him often in after years, both from pulpit and 
platform, there was ever a charm in sermon or lecture; for he 



360 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

had something to say, and it was so presented that a child 
might understand, and a sage be delighted. He opened 
fountains 'where lambs could drink; and deep, wide pools 
where leviathans could swim.' 

"Mr. Craig was not only a manly man, but a considerate, 
Christian gentleman. He knew so much more than his 
ordinary associates that often it would not have been difficult 
for him to be sarcastic or critical ; but there seemed to be a 
check upon him, a regard for the feelings of others, and no 
guile embittered his lips. If one in his hearing made a false 
quotation of Scripture, doing it ignorantly, he was sure to 
notice and correct. His corrections were never offensive, nor 
from pride of knowledge ; but always made modestly in be- 
half of the truth. How kind and gentle he was ! 

" By far his longest and perhaps happiest pastorate was with 
the ancient, rural parish of Blooming Grove. At the time of 
Mr. Craig's call to this church, it was really independent, even 
beyond the Congregational interpretation of Independency; 
and so remained under his ministry. He was a young man, 
and but for his solemn mien and sedate manner, might have 
been taken for a boy, although he had already served as pastor 
in New Jersey and in Fall River, Mass. 

" When he came to Blooming Grove, he found himself under 
a somewhat painful probation — held aloof and regarded as an 
ecclesiastical enemy by the neighbouring clergy, rather than a 
disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. But everything bows to the 
power of love — and so it was here. One by one the foes became 
friends and the hardest of all spirits — conscientious sectism, — 
bowed to our brother and took his extended hand in tender 
fellowship. What will not gentleness do? 

" Mr. Craig's coming to Blooming Grove was like the Apos- 
tle Paul's going into Arabia for a time. It permitted the 
thoughtful quiet and study of a divine theological school. 
Here he could in the seclusion of his hilltop home, not only 
look into the Holy Word but into the primal revelation of God, 
that was at the beginning — the Word as written by no pen, 
uttered by no prophet. 

"And we know that he improved this term granted in the 
providence of God. The parsonage became a lighthouse to 
all the countryside ; not only because of the lamp that burned 
in the study, but also because through him who trimmed and 
kept it burning glowed the heavenly light. 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 361 

"And so he studied, thought, and preached, to the strong 
people who faced him on the Sunday, who by their rever- 
ent attention inspired and by their thoughtful bearing called 
forth, the deepest truth he had to give. He had no fear but 
that the best he could do would be appreciated. He found 
a class of elderly, devout persons, who by their wisdom 
and affection aided and sustained their young pastor. It 
would seem as if they had been providentially educated for 
him, by the then new doctrinal preaching of Rev. James Ar- 
buckle, under whose ministry the church had become inde- 
pendent. 

" It was here Mr. Craig married, taking for his companion, 
Miss Adelaide Churchill, a graduate of Antioch College, a 
woman every way worthy of his large heart and pleasant home. 
It was a wise and tender union, until an angel of the covenant 
came and called her to 'the upper countries.' 

" At the beginning of their home-making, Mrs. Craig, aided 
by her sister, Miss Churchill, took charge of the select school 
that the wise and economical parishioners had established near 
the church and parsonage. It was a private academy intended 
for more thorough instruction than was afforded by the public 
schools. 

" Many men and women look back with gratitude to the in- 
struction there given and honour their memory. This, how- 
ever, though not trifling, is small compared with the influence 
for good which Mrs. Craig has given to the Church and the 
world. 

" Mr. Craig's ministry in Blooming Grove covered the dark 
and bloody years of our Civil War. The labours he freely, 
loyally took upon him were a greatly added burden. His zeal 
for the soldiers in field, camp and hospital awakened a gener- 
ous response in the community. Supplies came in and were 
passed over to the Sanitary Commission, thus comforting many 
a suffering hero. While acting in this way, as the almoner of 
a generous people, he received several personal letters from 
that rare devoted friend of all who suffer in times of peace or 
war, Miss Dorothea L. Dix. They were letters of thanks and 
good cheer from one of the elect women, one of the ministers 
of God, to our friend and brother, working in the same cause ; 
a testimony of which his family may well be — not proud — but 
thankful. 

"On the parish of Blooming Grove, Mr. Craig left his mark 



362 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CKAIG 

— not the sign of the ' broad arrow,' but of the consecrated 
cross, for 'being dead he yet speaketh.' 

''One of the striking incidents of his early life was his ac- 
quaintance and lasting friendship with the Hon. Horace Mann, 
and the respectful, even tender regard of that great educator 
and jurist for this youthful country preacher. One was fifty- 
six, the other twenty-eight years of age when their intimacy 
began. And it was like the love of David and Jonathan, an 
unselfish affection based on qualities of mind and heart — the 
recognition of characteristics that make us the sons of God, 
and members of one family. One was at the meridian of his 
well-won fame, as educator, writer, statesman ; few in the 
North and West had not been thrilled by Horace Mann's elo- 
quent appeals in behalf of truth and right, temperance, justice 
and judgment. The other was a young, modest, gifted, and 
as yet unknown minister of the Gospel. 

" At a course of lectures where several of the most popular 
speakers in our land were represented, Horace Mann had a 
place. He listened to a sermon from Mr. Craig, was both sur- 
prised and pleased, and the intimacy begun in the parsonage 
at Blooming Grove ended only when the end of his earthly life 
came to the great teacher and lecturer. 

"After Mr. Mann was elected to the presidency of Antioch 
College, he determined to bring Austin Craig to Yellow Springs. 
Over and over in the most emphatic manner and with the most 
earnest pleadings he besought his presence there as professor or 
preacher or both. The true estimate held of Austin Craig by 
Mr. Mann may be seen more plainly from his letters than from 
any words of mine. 

" Mrs. Mann, in her biography of her husband, says : 
' These letters, and there are many of them, urging Mr. Craig's 
removal to Yellow Springs, are given for the purpose of show- 
ing more clearly than the words of another can do, the principles 
on which Mr. Mann wished to form the religious tone of the 
new institution.' She then adds : 

" ' Mr. Craig's influence was as peculiar as his own religious 
character. It was not dogmatical, but exhortatory. It flowed 
out of his own religious experience with rare eloquence and 
simplicity, enlisting the sympathy and vivifying the answering 
sentiment in his audience with wonderful fervour. Mr. Mann 
held it in the highest estimation ; and his importunity, which 
might otherwise seem unreasonable, can only be thus explained. 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 363 

" ' His young friend, whom he had so long and earnestly im- 
portuned to come to his assistance, was to him the type of 
what all the young might be ; and the fruits of his experiment 
during the last few years had satisfied him that his plans were 
not Utopian, as many of his friends wished to make him 
believe. ' 

"I do not know about 'the plans 'of Horace Mann ; no 
doubt they were wise, and if wise, possible ; but that Austin 
Craig ' was the type of what all the young might be ' by intel- 
lectual development and spiritual influence was certainly a de- 
fective conclusion. Education is a power, but that even with 
moral training cannot make all men ideal. Even in the firma- 
ment that « declares the glory of God ' there is variety ; shining 
points of the first, blending their light with those of lesser mag- 
nitude. And among the stars of God here, it is as above, ' one 
differeth from another star in glory.' And it is the type of 
variety that prevails, not that of sameness. 

" The fact is, Austin Craig was a genius, an exceptional 
mind having rare gifts and unusual powers. Hence it is diffi- 
cult to classify or fix his place among men. He was pre- 
eminently Biblical ; his studies, thought and discipline were 
directed to a knowledge of the one Book. 

"While many during his life thought of him as a teacher, 
specially qualified for the class-room, or as a college president, 
it seems now that he was above all a preacher, expounding for 
the many the treasures of grace, and proclaiming the Gospel 
of the Son of God. He certainly was not a Boanerges, ' tear- 
ing and shattering the heart,' nor depending on any 'counter- 
feit presentiment ' of feeling ; but a true Barnabas, the ' son of 
consolation.' And whether in the pulpit or in the home, in 
country or city, in solemnizing a marriage or bowing by the 
bed of the dying, how welcome his presence, how cheering his 
manner, how inspiring — how tender and hopeful his words ! 

" Mr. Craig had the gift of an artist, and could make the 
pencil speak a varied language of beauty or caricature ; and 
with this, a most keen, incisive wit. Yet he bridled these 
powers, wisely no doubt, fearing their use might harm the ten- 
der plants in the Lord's garden. So completely were these 
gifts hidden, that often among even intimate friends they were 
not suspected. 

" In one point, among the many that might be men- 
tioned, Dr. Craig revealed his obedience to, and fellowship in 



364 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

Christ — revealed his recognition of the Man of Nazareth as 
Leader, Saviour and Master ; and this was his complete Chris- 
tian Democracy. Not only did he receive the words of Jeffer- 
son in the immortal 'Declaration,' but, as supreme, the words 
of the Saviour : ' For one is your Master, even Christ, and 
all ye are brethren.' 

" While Dr. Craig belonged of right to the blue-blood of 
New Jersey, yet he was not like that proud Duke of Somerset, 
who in his conceit once declared that he ' sincerely pitied 
Adam because he had no ancestors.' As was said of Governor 
John Andrew, so it may be said of Austin Craig, • he was a 
Democrat through and through, feeling himself on an equality 
with all, but never putting on airs of condescension to any.' 

" It seemed that the solemn words of Christ were ever in the 
ears and heart of our brother ; ' Inasmuch as ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these, My brethren, ye have done it 
unto Me.' For he did not seek to see the world of mankind 
through the purblind eyes of a greedy politician, nor the gim- 
blet holes of an aspiring dominie ; but rather with the clear 
vision of a Paul on Mars Hill, he saw ' the all embracing love 
of God ' ' who hath made of one blood all nations of men.' 

"Asa preacher, Dr. Craig was Biblical, presenting sublimest 
truths in the simplest words, ' so that the common people heard 
him gladly,' while the ablest minds were edified and instructed. 
His method was extempore and conversational, holding the at- 
tention by direct appeal ; but always obeying the command ' to 
bring the pure, beaten oil for the light ' of the sanctuary. He 
was studious, not depending on any inspiration without labour, 
realizing that the harvest depends on the sowing, and that in 
all things, we ' are to work with God.' 

" He had mastered the fine art of standing without being 
tied by creed, tradition or desk. He represented by his atti- 
tude in the pulpit the words of the lawgiver: 'Fear not, 
stand still and see the salvation of God ! ' And then came the 
thrilling command which he also religiously obeyed : ' Speak 
unto the children of Israel, that they go forward,' for it is not 
enough to stand, but also go forward in the name of the Lord. 
Mr. Craig believed the time had fully come when * knowledge 
should be increased.' What a model he was ! Never bois- 
terous, but easy, dignified and impressive. 

" To show his readiness, his trained powers through study, 
I relate an incident in which he, perhaps, was the only possible 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 365 

hero. At Marshall, Michigan, before ' The Quadrennial Con- 
vention,' he was asked to give a five minutes' sermon, as it 
lacked that time to adjournment. Some one in the audience 
said as he stood on the platform : ' Dr. Craig, give us some- 
thing good.' He replied : * I will give you the best there is.' 
And opening his Greek Testament, he read Ephesians 3:17, 
18, 19 : 'That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that 
ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to com- 
prehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length and 
depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which 
passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness 
of God.' 

" Then followed a sermon so complete, so full of Gospel, 
that for five minutes we were silent as a mountain top envel- 
oped in a cloud of glory. As the clock pointed, he ceased 
speaking and we could breathe again. But it was as if an an- 
gel had spoken to us. 

"Perhaps it was during his brief pastorate in the ' White 
Church,' New Bedford, that Dr. Craig reached the maximum 
of his powers in the pulpit, and received a just recognition. 
Here was a field, in a measure, worthy of his ability and schol- 
arship. As a religious teacher, he attracted at once the atten- 
tion of the thoughtful and devout. Here, he gave the course 
of lectures, some twelve in number, to which he had devoted 
years of study. The theme was : ' The morality, the re- 
ligious bearings of Physical Geography.' And as with him, 
'All roads lead to the Bible,' so the text for these lectures 
was Acts 17 : 26, ' And hath made of one blood all nations of 
men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined 
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation ; 
that they should seek the Lord.' — These invaluable discourses 
are lost to the world. 

"As the first president of the ' Biblical School,' his cherished 
thought was carried out — a thought and hope that he had 
dwelt on for years. It was not his desire to see another theo- 
logical seminary established for teaching any form of dogma or 
doctrine — there were plenty of these institutions. His hope 
was exclusively Biblical — to take the Bible as text-book, as 
literature, as religious authority — as Revelation — the paramount 
idea being to seek to understand the Scriptures. ' So that if 
any speak, let him speak as the oracles of God ; if any man 
minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth ; that 



366 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ : to 
whom be praise and dominion forever and ever.' This was 
his ideal : ' A School of the Prophets.' And at the time it 
was an original thought ; though now l institutions ' and 
1 chairs ' are established and endowed for this purpose. 

" When it became known that Austin Craig was head master 
of a school for simple Biblical study, without regard to points 
of doctrine or ecclesiastical dogmas, many were enrolled among 
the students who had been ordained preachers, and came to 
enrich their minds and hearts. Next to the pulpit, Mr. Craig 
was at home here, and indeed the stores of knowledge that had 
made him preeminently an instructive preacher, now made the 
class-room redolent of truths new and old, as he so clearly un- 
folded ' those things that are revealed and belong unto us and 
to our children forever.' And many who came found ' Beer- 
lahai-roi,' ' the well of Him that liveth and seeth me,' and they 
drank deep of that water that never faileth. 

" It was a great thing to establish and stand at the head of 
such a school ! Perhaps, full and golden as his life service 
had been, this was the crowning work of his career. What 
higher, holier thing can we do, than to make known the ' living 
God ' — the Father of us all ? 

" In the Christian virtue of hospitality, Dr. Craig never 
failed, though his generous welcome might puzzle his com- 
panion to find room for their guests. There was no narrowness 
at his table, as there was none in his theology ; for he was only 
the almoner of the meat and the grace of God who feeds the 
birds and hears the young lions. At the head of his home, he 
was an affectionate, considerate husband, and a most tender 
father. During his loneliness it was touching to see his ma- 
ternal care, reading to his children, and in every way striving 
to make their poverty rich, their bereavement cheerful and 
hopeful, as he assumed so thoughtfully the double burden that 
rested upon him. 

" But there came a brighter day to him and to his children — 
a time when he found in the person of Miss Sarah McCarn, 
M. D., one every way suited to share his burdens and help re- 
build his broken home — with her motherly heart, clear mind 
and practical sense, she was indeed a comfort and a blessing 
to all — most truly a God-sent helper and guide as after years 
proved. How glad we are for this sunshine before the gloam- 
ing and the darkness came. 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 367 

"When the end came, as come it must, it seemed at the 
noontide hour ! Came suddenly while the ' eye was not dim, 
nor his natural force abated.' We thought he stood on the 
foot-hills of Pisgah, not on the top. 

" The world seemed dark and lonely, though it was not, for 
God was here, His grace and providence the same as ever— » 
boundless as His power — perfect as His wisdom. And our 
brother's life, his inspired words, have entered into hearts and 
lives, and like ' the rain from heaven give seed to the sower 
and bread to the eater.' " 



Rev. Isaac C. Goff: "Dr. Craig was not only a great man, 
but a man of great humility, and most childlike simplicity. 
He was a Christian in the most Catholic sense, — not merely a 
member of what is called the Christian Church. Although 
scholarly and eminently critical, he was not dogmatical or in 
any sense controversial. He was a man and a minister of 
eminent spiritual mindedness. His ministry and teaching for 
more than a score and a half of years have been a large and 
invaluable contribution to that type of Christian faith. Horace 
Mann used to say that he never knew any other man who so 
much, in his character, life and spirit, resembled Jesus Christ. 
I knew him intimately for thirty- nine years, and never knew 
anything of him that gave me pain — not an act or word that I 
could see to be wrong." 



David Clark, in Address of Commemoration at the dedica- 
tion of the monument to Dr. Craig at Stanford ville : "In 
some — yes, in most — respects Dr. Craig differed from all other 
men I ever knew. It would seem that both nature and grace 
contributed liberally to his make-up. His tall, angular form 
seemed designed for Western frontier life, yet the spirit in the 
man fitted him to be an angel. He was large-hearted and 
generous, even-tempered and kind, tender and loving as a 
woman. And then what a large and social nature he possessed ! 
What lengths, breadths, and depths of humanity 1 His beam- 
ing, sweet face was the ' sign manual ' of his heart, so that his 
presence among us was an inspiration and a kind of unspoken 
benediction. Did you ever think, dear friends, when he was in 



368 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

your presence with that benign and heavenly countenance that 
he resembled the divine Master as He appeared when upon the 
earth ? I must confess that often have I thought so. In view 
of these things is it strange that the friends of the Christian 
Biblical Institute should give it the cognomen of the ' School of 
the Prophets ' ? 

"To such a man, to such a friend, to such an educator, to 
such a philanthropist, to such a Christian, we now dedicate this 
monument. We dedicate it to the memory of President Austin 
Craig, D. D., for giving his best services to the Christian 
Biblical Institute. We dedicate it to him for his pure and un- 
selfish life which made the lives of others richer and better by 
his example." 



Dr. J. K. Hosmer : " Dr. Craig was in many ways a re- 
markable scholar. The Scriptures were at his tongue's end and 
a vast amount of information with regard to them. I admired 
much his power of presentation. In the pulpit or before his 
class he would stand up, Bible in hand, and without notes, 
pour out a fluent stream of enthusiastic comment, the contagion 
of his earnestness catching and carrying away his audience. 
His power here was marked, and it was a natural sequence that 
he was effective as a preacher and a teacher. 

" Dr. Craig impressed me even more in his byplay, so to 
speak, than in his regular work. His wit was a noteworthy 
quality in him ; and while it was by no means thrust back in 
his more formal addresses, it was more brilliant and abundant 
in his conversation and offhand talks. He bubbled over with 
it. In a fairly long experience during which I have known a 
number of bright men, I can recall very few in whom the flow 
of wit was so exuberant and natural. I do not recall that he 
was ever caustic ; it was a genial sunshine which cheered with- 
out scorching. I wish I could recall particular instances ; but 
after thirty years only the general impression remains — the tall 
thin figure, surmounted by the countenance almost always 
smiling — the rapid exposition of the Word, turning on a score 
of side-lights to make all vivid — that is the man who lives in 
my memory as he stood before an audience ; and then on less 
formal occasions, after dinner or when he was ' in dressing- 
gown and slippers ' came especially the scintillations with laugh- 
ing and friendly cordiality and all sorts of wisdom." 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 369 

Rev. J. B. Weston : " The memories which have rushed 
upon and held possession of my mind since the announcement 
of the sudden death of my Brother Craig are too many and too 
sacred for expression. How vividly I recall my first acquaint- 
ance with him, at the Marion Convention, in 1850, where in our 
youth we were drawn together by our interest in the establish- 
ment of Antioch. How pleasant the recollection of the visit 
thence, of ten of us, to Niagara Falls, and our prayer- meeting 
in our room at the hotel, with the constant roar of that mighty 
cataract to us a new anthem of praise to God. How sacred the 
years of association at Antioch, with experiences of anxiety and 
hope, of sadness and burden-bearing and work, in hope of 
realizing our early ideal. 

" Especially vivid, now that he has passed away, is the 
memory of the strength and comfort of his companionship in 
the hours of my own bereavement and loneliness. There were 
circumstances, too, in college and church which demanded 
faith and wisdom and patience. How conspicuous they were 
in him ! I have seen him in many places calculated to dis- 
turb equanimity if anything could ; but in all he was never dis- 
concerted — never put off his guard. From years of personal 
companionship I can join the general testimony : He was one 
of the best of men, if not the best, and most Christlike man I 
ever knew. Such a life as his is a benediction, even when it is 
no more in the flesh." 



Rev. O. T. Wyman: "Rev. Austin Craig and wife came 
to the Chautauqua assembly grounds the second week in 
August, 1881, for a few days' rest and recreation. I was spend- 
ing my vacation at Chautauqua and Point Chautauqua. I 
found them at Chautauqua the morning after their arrival. 
Dr. Craig was attending a lecture in the Hall of Philosophy, 
sitting by the side of Rev. E. E. Hale, D. D. Before the end 
of the week, Dr. Craig, not being very well, wearied of the 
lectures and entertainments and gladly accepted an invitation 
to spend Sunday at Point Chautauqua across the lake and also 
to preach in the Christian Church in DeWittville near by at the 
request of the pastor, Rev. S. H. Morse. After the morning 
service we went to the County House, half a mile north of the 
village where Rev. Morse had an appointment as chaplain of 
the institution. Dr. Craig preached, what proved to be, his 



370 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

last sermon. His text was Matthew 17: 8, — ' They saw no 
man save Jesus only.' Seeing Jesus, was his theme: and few 
men ever saw Jesus as he did. At the evening service 
Dr. Craig followed the sermon with appropriate remarks. 
This was his last church attendance. After we had returned to 
Point Chautauqua for the night, he asked me to take a walk 
with him before retiring to rest. As at the County House, 
Jesus was his theme. He was filled with the Spirit of the 
Master and it seemed a pleasure to him to speak of Christ, 
human life, and Christian hopes. I think I felt somewhat like 
the two disciples on the road to Emmaus when Jesus talked with 
them and unfolded the Scriptures. The following morning I 
saw Doctor and Mrs. Craig on board the stz&mzr Jamestown on 
their home journey. In two weeks the great and good man 
passed over the river." 



Rev. D. W. Moore, a trustee of the Christian Biblical Insti- 
tute from its founding to the present time, in a memorial ser- 
mon preached at Parma, New York, September 4, 188 1 : 
" Only four times in my life had I heard news so unexpected, 
so shocking, so sad, so unwelcome as the news of the death of 
Dr. Craig — when Horace Mann, president of Antioch, died in 
1859, when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, when 
my own father was killed in an accident in 1869 and when 
President Garfield was assassinated in 1881. Dr. Craig was 
not a mere local man. His light and life shine through all our 
churches. He was the Elijah of our people ; he was the teacher 
of the prophets ; a King in Israel. And now that he has gone 
from us and from the school he loved so well, he has bequeathed 
to us in his unblemished life, in his recorded words, in his il- 
lustrious name, an inheritance worthy to be highly prized and 
sacredly guarded. When the name of such a man is stricken 
from the roll of the living it is not meet that his honoured dust 
should be put away out of sight in darkness without tribute to 
his character, his life and his fame. We all have one feeling in 
our hearts, a feeling of loss and grief that we shall never more 
see the form or hear the voice of him who has been the in- 
structor of our preachers. . . . My loss is your loss, the 
loss of the young men entering the ministry, the loss of all our 
churches, a loss to the cause of Christ on earth. But he is not 
gone ; he will be treasured in many hearts and memories ; his 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHERS 371 

words of wisdom and love will be a living memory ; — the 
name, the character, the labours of this eminent scholar and 
servant of God will long be held in precious remembrance by 
the Christian churches of America. . . . 

" Dr. Craig was an untiring worker. His knowledge of the 
ancient languages was most remarkable and in his library were 
many of the most rare and valuable books on subjects along 
this line of study. He was unassuming to a fault ; kind and 
tender-hearted ; always a peacemaker. He had a singular ele- 
gance and refinement of style ; his utterances were rich and 
pleasing, — happy in illustration, musical with the notes of the 
Gospel, and sweetened with the spirit of Christ. I think I may 
safely say that in his peculiar sphere as a Bible scholar and a 
Bible lecturer, Austin Craig stood as high as any other in this 
country." 



Rev. N. Summerbell: "Austin Craig appeared to all as 
though he felt as Jesus felt ; he spake as though he thought as 
Jesus thought. His spirit seemed to be one with Jesus. Al- 
ways kind, loving, benevolent, cheerful, pleasant, to do his 
duty was to him a crown of pleasure, not a cross. He loved 
the loving accent of the Master more than the lofty style, the 
grace of charity above the polish of learning ; therefore, though 
his language was the very acme of purity it was ever gilded 
over with the golden lustre of heavenly grace and divine beauty. 
His religion seemed homogeneous and unaffected, his grace 
hereditary, his goodness natural, his kindness rising to angelic 
loveliness and celestial sweetness. His faith was divine. The 
will of God was consulted, and was the arbiter of all his ways. 
Obedience was his delight, the footmarks of Jesus, the path he 
trod. To be 'like the Master' was his constant joy. With 
John, he seemed ever to lean on Jesus' breast ; with Mary, to 
sit at Jesus' feet; with the sainted three, to ascend to the 
mount of transfiguration. With the wise men, he worshipped 
the Lord in the manger ; and, with John, did outrun Peter and 
come first to the sepulchre. He was at home nowhere without 
Jesus, and wherever he came it soon appeared that Jesus was 
there. His adoration of the Saviour was of the most exalted 
character, and his devotion to His service a corresponding faith- 
fulness. Men called him Christlike. The Hon. Horace 
Mann said in the writer's presence, ' Austin Craig reminds me 



372 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

more of Jesus than any other man I have ever met.' Others 
likened him to the Apostle John. The term ' Christlike ' was 
applied to him even by the wicked. A citizen of Stanfordville 
said to the writer, ' No man that has ever lived in this com- 
munity commanded such general respect, or had the esteem of 
all classes and denominations, or was so looked up to or 
so lamented, as Dr. Craig.' His death was considered by 
thousands both in this country and in Europe a public calam- 
ity, and an irreparable loss to the Church and to the world. " 

Through nearly a half century of time a letter has come 
down to this present day, looking strangely on its deep 
blue background with its narrow lines and close writing. 
It is a letter from one man's heart to another man's heart ; 
— we may not more fitly conclude these estimates of the 
life of Austin Craig than by one or two sentences from it. 
It was written by one of the great Americans of his gen- 
eration, of any generation of the republic, Horace Mann. 
It was at a time when with all his power he was seeking 
to draw Austin Craig to his side, not less to avail himself 
of his service than to strengthen himself by the steadfast 
love and sympathy of the younger man. 

"A week has almost gone," the letter says, "but brings 
with it no relief for the loneliness occasioned by your absence. 
I go by your door, but your room looks vacant with more than 
mere personal or physical absence. The hollow sounds reach 
not the ear only, but the heart. I cannot bear the idea of the 
loss of your influence upon these young people. Elsewhere 
you can do good ; here you can do abounding good. Is it not, 
therefore, a question removed from the sphere of personal con- 
siderations into the higher sphere of duty : where one must 
merge his personal considerations in his obligations to the 
world ? And now I am going to be brave enough to appeal to 
you on considerations which lose sight of your preferences and 
mine, — on considerations that occupy a higher stratum in the 
moral realm, — on considerations that your whole life and teach- 
ings and the demands you make upon others now impose upon 
yourself. If you and I alone were concerned, I would have 
you do what you like best ; for I love you most among living 



IN THE SIGHT OF OTHEES 373 

men. But you and I are not the only parties to this question. 
Our duty subjectively, the welfare of thousands objectively; 
God in and through all and over all ; — these are the umpires 
that are to settle this great question ; so that even if it were a 
case of martyrdom and I were your father or your son I should 
say the same ; — I should be bound to forget myself on the 
point of duty." 



XX 

HIS SCHOLARSHIP 

PEOPEELY and adequately to set forth the stand- 
ing of Austin Craig as a scholar, one of equal 
standing must needs be drawn for the service, but 
we may here in some slight measure indicate his gift by 
a general review of this feature of his life-work and by 
some germane comment. 

From the earliest period in his life when his thoughtful 
father started him aloug the student's way, Austin Craig 
was never satisfied with accepting what some one else 
might say upon a subject, especially in the case where 
diverse miuds might speak diverse comment. He greatly 
prized the criticism of others, if it were sane and fair, and 
he held himself ever open to new views of old truths, but 
he particularly loved to make search for himself. With 
a native likiug for languages his thought early turned 
towards their study. As he was to follow the profession 
of preacher and teacher of the Word of God, he took par- 
ticular interest at the outset in the Greek and Hebrew, 
even extending his studies to the Sanskrit language and 
literature and to Arabic. To these tongues he gave un- 
interrupted study. He not only mastered the grammars, 
the ordinary construction of ordinary writers, the frame- 
work, so to speak, of each language, but he went deeper. 
He searched out obscure writers and studied them. He 
pored over strange and difficult writings, far removed 
from the ordinary college curricula. And in so doing 
the customary text-books chosen for their illustrative 

374 



HIS SCHOLARSHIP 375 

character, sometimes for their simplicity and ease of use, 
became the mere commonplace for him ; — it was the deep 
study of the abstruse things that so splendidly fitted him 
for the interpretation of those less difficult. 

And for this reason it was that he devoted so many 
years of his life in such measure as was possible to the 
study of the texts of the Old and New Testaments, that 
he might obtain complete mastery over them ; such a 
mastery few Americans living or dead have acquired. 
Nor was it that he might shine as a brilliant light among 
scholastics, or that he might air his knowledge in new 
critiques on obscure passages, or to give the world notice 
that he had mastered two of the most difficult languages, 
ancient or modern ; nor did he study for the mere liter- 
ary pleasure of it : his sole object was to equip himself 
for largest service. Much of his work was of an indi- 
vidual character, on lines mapped out by himself. "My 
Greek studies," he writes in the year 1855, when but at 
the threshold of his career, l L have been for some years 
quite exclusively within the limits of the New Testament 
and the Septuagint, — a very little in the Apostolic Fath- 
ers and in Plato. I am studying Greek on my own plan 
and with reference to a long-cherished result. Xeno- 
phon's ' Memorabilia ' is a good class book regardless of 
its Greek. I hope teachers will aid the classes which 
study it to weigh the wisdom and appreciate the charac- 
ter of the noblest man in Grecian history whose life it too 
briefly presents. John's Gospel is a good text-book, too, 
— I have sometimes imagined that if I were allowed only 
two books of those which I know, I would probably se- 
lect John's Gospel and Plato's 'Phgedo.' " 

Illustrative of the depth and scope of his study is this 
fragment of a letter written in 1854, when in his quiet 
study on the hilltop at Blooming Grove he was delving 
deeper and deeper into the sacred texts : 



376 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

"I have been engaged for a considerable time past upon a 
project of Greek New Testament study which I cherish the 
purpose of pursuing for years to come, if God permit. 

" Myself and a friend have for several years entertained the 
purpose of producing a volume in illustration of the New Tes- 
tament. I will not here particularize. Sufficient to say that 
it seems to us very necessary to be done ; and that we have 
been working at it, and in view of it, both of us, several 
months. 

" Since last November, as my part of the work, I have col- 
lected, by collating Bruder's ' New Testament Greek Concord- 
ance ' with Scapula's ' Lexicon,' the entire list of all Greek words 
contained in all hitherto examined manuscripts of the Greek 
New Testament ; and have disposed them in classes according 
to their etymological affinities — derivative and compositive. 
The work of arrangement is completed ; the copying-out is 
about one-third done. 

" In connection with this I am engaged upon a classification 
of these words according to their signification. Much the same 
for the New Testament Greek (though upon a different plan of 
classification) that Roget has performed for the English lan- 
guage in his ' Thesaurus.' These works completed, prepare the 
way for the work, in view of which, these have been under- 
taken." 

Two letters from Mr. Craig to Horace Mann written re- 
spectively in November and December, of 1854, one given 
in part, the other in full, illustrate the care and scholarly 
completeness with which he answered knotty questions 
presented to him frequently by those not so well 
equipped: 

" As to the subject of your proposed tract on the Harmony of 
true Science and true Religion, — instruction on this point 
seems particularly needful. Swedenborg seems to have de- 
veloped the fundamental law of the thing in various publica- 
tions of his ; particularly in his work entitled ' Angelic Wis- 
dom concerning the Divine Wisdom and Divine Love.' Ac- 
cording to him, Wisdom and Love, or Good and Truth, con- 
stitute the esse and existere, or Essence and Form of the 
Divine. There is, says he, in the Divine an eternal marriage 



HIS SCHOLARSHIP 377 

of Love and Wisdom ; neither being without the other in the 
least respect : but both in perfect conjunction and oneness, as 
the Light and Heat of the natural Sun. Wisdom is from Love, 
and manifests it; and Love is through Wisdom in its prolifica- 
tions and efficiencies. From this marriage of Love and Wis- 
dom in the Divine, proceeds the Divine Creative Sphere, pro- 
ducing all things, and transcribing an image of itself into all 
things of nature, according to their reception. In every- 
thing of nature, says Swedenborg, there is this Divine Mar- 
riage of Love and Wisdom. In the Solar Heat and Light : 
which create, mediately, the natural world. In the Heart and 
Lungs of the Body, representatively : — The Heart representing 
Love, and the Lungs, Wisdom. Heart-blood being unfit for 
life, until vitalized, or purified by the breath in the Lungs : 
like as the Natural affection of Man becomes true Life only 
when purified by Wisdom, — changed from selfish to heavenly. 
A curious fact it is that in the Scriptures (both Hebrew and 
Greek) the divine purifying Spirit is literally — Breath. In 
Hebrew, fpH/ riiach, (meaning breath ; air in motion — wind, 
nature's great-breathing \ thence the breather — man ; and the 
Breather — the Vivifying Spirit). In Greek 7tveu/j.a, {pneumd) 
from nvito {pneo) to breathe, spiro, (whence, the Latin 
Spiritus). The Holy Spirit is the Divine Breathement (?) which 
de carbonizes (?) the Natural, earthly affections of Man, and 
infills him with heavenly Life and Vigour. Jesus said to Nico- 
demus : ' Wonder-thou not, that I-said to-thee: It-must-be 
(that) ye be-born from-above. The breath breatheth where- 
ever it wisheth, and the sound of-it thou-hearest, but thou- 
knowest not whence it-cometh and where it-goeth-up : thus is 
the every-one born out-of the breath.' (John 3 : 7, 8.) — 
Excuse this un-English literality. John's Gospel, 20: 22, is 
noticeable, too : ' And (Jesus) saying this, blew-on (the dis- 
ciples) and tells them : Receive- ye breath holy.' Sweden- 
borg often utters the sentiment that Human Marriage is 
the highest symbol of the Divine Marriage of Love and 
Wisdom. This is the subject, indeed, of a most curious (and 
wise ?) book of his ; an octavo, of 400 pages, entitled, ' De- 
lights of Wisdom concerning ConjugzVz/ Love.' — The Man 
representing Intelligence, and the Woman the Affection of that 
Intelligence. — I have not space to tell his (were it even need- 
ful) curious metaphysical theory of the Spiritual necessity of 
disjoining in man the elements conjoined in the Divine-nature. 



378 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

But to divorce the Intellect from the Affections in Worship, 
when they are intimately conjoined everywhere in the universe, 
is for man to put-asunder what God has joined-together. Paul 
is very explicit on this point, (i Corinthians 14: 15-20.) 
< I will pray with the spirit (pneuma — here designating, the 
inmost of man, spring of his affections?) but also I will pray 
with the mind (vow?). I will psalm-sing with the spirit, but 
also I-will-psalm-sing with the mind.' — ' Brethren, do not 
come-to-be (not be, but become, is the meaning,) children in the 
intellects (or mentals'). (The word here translated understanding, 
is not the same that is so translated in verse 15. There it is 
vow?, mind (singular) : here it is <ppe<n (phresi plural) with the 
article prefixed — i. e., the intellects.) However-but be-babes 
as to the evil, but as to the intellects become-ye complete.'' 
(Complete or finished : from reXog, reXetos, consummate?) It 
is nothing against all this in favour of conjoining Knowledge 
and Piety or Science and Devotion, that Paul says elsewhere. 
(1 Cor. 1 : 19.) < I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,' &c. 
— ' Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world,' &c. 
Paul has in view, evidently, and indeed names the Zo<poi — the 
very logic-chopping, self-conceited Greek intelligizers whom 
Plato confutes so scathingly in many of his Dialogues. A 
Greek Sophos of the Pauline age is not identical with a reverent- 
minded, Christian Philosopher or Scientific, in these days ! 

" But people think they gain a higher grade of Devotion or 
Piety by casting out the Intellect- action for the time. Warm- 
holy-emotion and clear-understanding go together. Love and 
Wisdom — Devotion and Knowledge one forever / What a 
striking fact it is, that John, so eminently the Z^z^-apostle has 
more to say about Knowledge, proportionally, than even Paul 
— the 'dialectic'! Here are some facts: — The verb to 
know, and derivatives occur in John's Gospel fifty-six times : 
in the other three Gospels, only five more (i. e., 61 times). 
John's Gospel uses the word proper to love thirty-seven times : 
all the other Gospels thirty-five times. In Paul's Epistles to 
the Romans and the two to the Corinthians the know words 
occur thirty times : in the much smaller compass of the Love- 
disciples three epistles, the know words occur twenty-eight 
times. I don't see how these facts are reconcilable with the 
notion that Christianity is Feeling and not Thinking — Loving 
and not Knowing: Since the Love-Disciple who has most 
to say of Loving, has also, proportionally, much the most to 



HIS SCHOLAKSHIP 379 

say of Knowing at least, uses the word most frequently. The 
conclusion is that Love and Knowledge should be in one. 
1 He that loveth not, knoweth not God. ' * My people are 
destroyed for lack of Knowledge.' 

" Your friend, 

"Austin Craig." 



"Blooming Grove, N. Y., December 21 st, 1854. 
" My dear Sir, — 

" Mr. Mann : — I have a regretful and partly surprised 
consciousness that your letter — dated the 13th ultimo — is yet 
unanswered. I owe it to you, and to that kindly regard which 
I wish ever to deserve from you, to explain particularly the 
causes of this long silence. — I have been for some weeks past 
unusually engrossed with unfinished details of business ; some 
of which — one especially — I much wished to have completed 
by the incoming of the New Year. For many nights recently 
I have seen eleven, twelve, one o'clock (and even later) before 
retiring. — My old habit again : which I talked of reforming ! 
Withal, I have been from home more than usual within the past 
month. I did once fully purpose — some three weeks ago — to 
answer yours immediately; and took the letter with me to 
New Jersey, designing on my return to consult some Hebrew 
books which I knew to be in Professor Bush's library in Brook- 
lyn, and obtain thence fuller materials for the reply, than my 
own library affords. But on my return I lacked the requisite 
leisure. — To shorten my story, although I could (if something 
very urgent had been recognized in the case) have furnished 
you some sort of answer before this, yet I seem to myself as 
having lacked hitherto that kind of leisure which the prepar- 
ation of a careful answer demanded. — Do you kindly excuse 
my remissness; and accept here, in advance, to yourself and 
yours ' Christmas ' and ' New Years ' greetings. I proceed to 
answer you, with the help of very limited resources of neces- 
sary books, the two questions of your letter. 

"First: As to the issue raised by your reviewer founded 
upon the real or supposed etymological import of the names 
Adam and Enos : — The ' Hebrew Bible ' contains all that now 
remains of the ancient Hebrew language. Of consequence, 
the materials are very scanty for the satisfactory determination 
of a variety of questions, relative to the usage and general or 



380 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

specific meaning of many words. The derivation or etymolog- 
ical affinity of Hebrew words is in very many cases uncertain. 
Indeed it is quite conjectural, oftentimes. For the interpreta- 
tion of the Hebrew Bible the chief reliance has been that old 
Greek Translation — the Septuagint. — In very recent times an- 
other source of knowledge of the import of Hebrew words has 
been opened in the study of the cognate languages — Syriac 
and especially the Arabic. — Which are kindred with the 
Hebrew, somewhat, (I suppose) as French, Spanish and Italian 
are kindred to the old Latin. Some philologists affirm that the 
roots of all the words in the Hebrew Bible may be traced in 
the Arabic language of the present day. Much light has been 
thrown upon the difficult places in the Hebrew Bible by the re- 
sults of modern studies (German, chiefly) in comparative Phi- 
lology. — Many doubtful words, occurring but once or twice in 
me Hebrew Bible, and being therefore often uncertain as to 
their meaning have been identified in origin and import with 
some root in the cognate languages : still this whole matter 
of etymological affinities is often uncertain, if not entirely 
conjectural. — Now, in the case of these words Adam and Seth, 
the results as given by Gesenius — one of Germany's recent 
greatest — if not the greatest of Hebraists, are as follows. — 
First the root (verb) D1K (Adam) signifies 'to be red, 

ruddy.' — From which, as a derivative, Gesenius gives D^X 

($dam) 'a man, a human being male or female, so called from 
his ruddiness, compare DV (dam) (dam is blood in Hebrew). 

Another derivative from the above root is DIN (adorn) and 
QI'IK (ad^om — merely a variation in the spelling) an adjec- 
tive, signifying according to Gesenius — 'red, ruddy,' or sub- 
stantively 'redness.' Another derivative is D~IK (tfedom) 

proper-name or appellative of Isaac's ' sanguine-temper- 
amented ' (?) son Esau. Another derivative is D"]K (odfcm) ' a 

gem of red colour, perhaps, ruby, garnet.'' Also D^p^tf 

(adamdam) adj. 'reddish' — applied to spots in leprous per- 
sons — 'white and somewhat reddish* (Lev. 13 : 19, &c, and 
14:17). Also: HQ"W (adam&h) 'earth, perhaps so called 

from its reddish colour.' Also \Tto'TO (admone) adj., 'red, 



HIS SCHOLAESHIP 381 

i. e., red-haired, e. g. Esau, Gen. 25 : 25. David, 1 Sam. 
16 : 12; 17 .-42. Septuagint, Ttoppdxr^, Vulgate, rufus.' 

" You see therefore the probability of the correctness of the 
conclusion that adam refers to the redness of the colour human 
— rather than as your reviewer gives it from the verb which 
signifies to be- like. (He says — 'the word translated ground 
comes from a verb which signifies to be like') Now Gesenius 
gives the ' word translated ground ' (viz. PIB1K adamah) from 

the root D"]N (adam) ' to be red.' 

" The verb which signifies to be like is PIET (damah) which 

primarily signifies to be like, to resemble ; but has also another 
signification 'to be dumb, silent, still: to rest, to cease.' — 
Gesenius does not recognize any relation of adam to damah. 

" ' Enos — a name derived from a verb which signifies to be 
infirm, ill or bad with disease — weak, frail, miserable. ' (The 
Reviewer.) 

" Gesenius gives in his lexicon the following articles which I 
here transcribe for you : 

U( ttfatf (anash) same as ^j (noosh) (compare Greek vo<tos) 

to be sick, ill at ease, — sick, desperate, incurable, &c. 

" ' 1WK (anesh) a primitive word, not used in the singular ; 

properly, a man, vir, and then man in general, homo. Instead 
of it the Hebrews used the contracted and softened form W& 

(ish) a man : compare Greek el? for h$, genitive, hb$ ; and 
also the prolonged form Wl'Jjtf (enosh) homo. From this 

primary form comes feminine TW$ (isshah) for rtttfrK (inshah) 

diwoman, and plur. D^IZ^JK (enashim) men. — The signification 

of sickness and disease, which lies in the root ttfjtf (anash), is 

derived from another source, the primary syllable ^3 (nash) ; 
and has no connexion with this substantive root. 1 

" ' ttfak (enosh) m. 1. a man. (See below in WW 

(anesh), [that is in the preceding article, as I have copied 
it. C] same as DIN (adam), but only in poetic style. Rarely 

in the sense of the singular, Ps. 55 : 14, Job 5:17; more 
usually collect, for the whole human race, man, Job 7:17, 



382 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

15 : 14, Ps. 8 : 5. The same is Wbi$"]2 (ben-e nosh — i. e. f 

son of Enosh) Ps. 144 : 3. — Specially a) a multitude, the 
common people, vulgns ; hence Isa. 8 : 1 Wfjtf tOirfi 

(b'hheret enosh) pp. with a man's stylus, i. e. f with common 
letters, not artificial, so that the common people may read with- 
out difficulty : compare, Comment, on Is. 1. c. Rev. 13 : 18, 

21 : 17, also Raza av$pu>Tzov. Gal. 3 : 15 7) wicked men. 

Ps. 9 : 20, 56 : 2, 66 : 12. Compare D"|tf No. 1 (ad^m). 

" ' 2. Pr. n. (proper name) Enos, son of Seth and grand- 
son of Adam (Gen. 4 : 26, 5 : 6, 9).' 

"Thus far Gesenius ; whom I prefer to copy that you may 
form your own conclusion from the date here given by him. — 
You will observe, doubtless, that your reviewer is not sustained 
by the authority of Gesenius. — I use the translation of Gese- 
nius' Latin, made by Edward Robinson, D. D., and issued at 
Boston in 1836. I suggest that it would be well, if you wish 
a larger array of authorities, to apply to Dr. Stebbins, who has 
access to the necessary books (which here I have not,) and 
who rather relishes such investigations, I judge. — If any points 
are not sufficiently clear to you in my statements, please give 
me an opportunity to clarify them. 

"As to the 90th Psalm : it has generally been attributed to 
Moses. Though the Hebrew particle ^5 (letter Lamed~) trans- 
lated "of Moses" — may signify — with reference to Moses: 
but this is no more natural than the signification "of." 
Here is a note from Adam Clarke. 

" 'The title of this Psalm is, A prayer of Moses, the Man 
of God. The Chaldee (Targum) has, A prayer which Moses 
the prophet of the Lord prayed when the people of Israel had 
sinned in the wilderness. All the Versions ascribe it to 
Moses ; but that it could not be of Moses the lawgiver is evi- 
dent from this consideration, that the age of Man was not then 
seventy or eighty years, which is here stated to be its almost 
universal limits, for Joshua lived no years, and Moses him- 
self 120, Miriam his sister 130, Adam his brother 123, 
Caleb 85, and their cotemporaries lived in the same propor- 
tion. Therefore the Psalm cannot at all refer to such ancient 
times. If the title be at all authentic, it must refer to some 
other person of that name ; and indeed ish Elohim, a man of 
God, a divinely-inspired man, agrees to the times of the proph- 



HIS SCHOLAESHIP 383 

ets, who were thus denominated. — The Psalm was doubtless 
composed during or after the Captivity ; and most probably on 
their return, when they were engaged in rebuilding the 
Temple ; and this as Dr. Kennicott conjectures, may be " the 
work of their hands," which they pray God to bless and 
prosper.' 

" Drs. Kennicott and Geddes (both eminent Hebraists) in- 
cline to the later date of this Psalm. 

"I have written at the top of my speed; in order to hasten 
to the Post Office ; excuse this special-train writing, and accept 
for yourself and family assurances of the continued esteem and 
affection of 

"Austin Craig." 



It is a matter of keen regret that the twelve lectures 
Dr. Craig gave at the Hyannis Camp Ground on Cape 
Cod, the summer assembly grounds of the Christian de- 
nomination, were not preserved. They were given in 
the summer of 1881 — the year he died— and they at- 
tracted wide-spread interest. Plans were under way to 
have the twelve lectures given before the Lowell Society 
in Boston, but these plans were interrupted by Dr. Craig's 
death. The central thought in these lectures was the 
influence of geographical location upon race character- 
istics, the inter-relation of all that is implied in geography 
and ethnology, Dr. Craig's idea being that the varied 
distributions and scatterings of the races of the world 
were a part of the great plan of God, the result of divine 
forethought. A suggestion of the scope of the lectures 
is seen in his " The Story of the World." 

It is of interest to note that the name of the Cape Cod 
assembly grounds was later changed to Craigville, in 
honour of Dr. Craig. 

As the years passed and Dr. Craig's fame as a scholar 
spread still more widely, many calls were made upon him 
for interpretation of difficult passages in the Bible, — 
how potent and forceful a factor he would have been had 



384 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

he been given time and strength to accept the invitation 
to become one of the translators of the Revised Edition 
of the Bible ! Here is an example of the calls made upon 
him. A man whom he had never met bnt with whom he 
had had some correspondence had written for light. 
Dr. Craig replies : 

" You ask me hard questions. I fear my hurried answers 
will be only ' dark sayings.' 

" Japheth's manner of thinking is the logical (or illogical). 
He can do almost nothing in the ana-logical. That eminent 
son of Japheth, John Stuart Mill, in his ' System of Logic ' 
divides all knowables into these five classes: Existence, Co- 
existence, Sequence, Causation and Resemblance : coming 
out like a prince in ' Causation ' ; but like a pauper in ' Re- 
semblance.' It takes Semitic intellect (or intelligence) to 
think analogically, and to wield the parable. Did not God 
teach man at first in object-lessons ? parables in things, coming 
first; in His anointed men, next; in words, last? After- 
wards when Japheth was enlarged and made to dwell in the 
tents of Shem, Logic was annexed. 

"But with us, Logic is almost everything. But the Japhetic 
hemisphere is not the full orb. Japheth is hardly Semetized 
enough yet, to read the first part of Genesis or the closing 
book of the New Testament. Calvin lets the Apocalypse 
alone. And to many a Christian dialectician the Tabernacle 
of Israel is as difficult as Egypt's hieroglyphics. Yet, the 
Melchisadecian Epistle, with its 'many things to say, and 
hard to be uttered,' does say expressly, that, 'the first taber- 
nacle ' — with 'the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy- 
seat,' — was a parable for that season of the church. 

" The core of this parable is found in the Holy of Holies 
as seen by the High Priest on the great day of Atonement. 
But all this is within a veil, and needs the unveiling — the 
axo-f±ahs(pi<s. But, in the Divine Light gleaming from between 
the cherubim (in the Most Holy Place), — do we not see the 
Postern Gate of Eden ? When Adam looked upon the cheru- 
bim, and the self-poised sword of light turning every way to 
keep the Way of the Tree of Life ; did he not understand the 
heavenly Parable ? And there Man found his first sanctuary, 
and built his first altar ; and there the Prophet Abel, offering 



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HIS SCHOLAESHIP 385 

the inner life of the choice lamb — (a parabolic act) was slain 
between the temple (#". e., vao$) and the altar, — as, similarly, 
Zacharias was afterwards slain. 

" Can we doubt that righteous Abel had Adam's spiritual 
intelligence ? And Adam was taught of God by those trees 
in Eden. Was not the Paradise of Adam the first parable 
of God to our race? What if such parabolic language be 
dark to us ? I suppose some of Japheth's sons surpass our 
first Father Adam in Syllogisms (in logical inventions for 
detecting fallacies), but I have no doubt that men who lived 
in Seth's line near the Eden age, far surpassed us in power of 
spiritual discernment, and in the power of vivid expression 
of spiritual things in a sign-language whose most valuable re- 
mains are now to be found in the non-logical (say non-Japhetic) 
portions of Holy Scripture. The Ark of Noah contained and 
bore over to the post-diluvial world the spiritual treasures of 
Adam and Abel and Seth and Enoch ; — their sacred truth, 
and the sacred language and forms in which they transmitted 
it. When Noah's sons multiplied into incipient and settled 
nations, Ham and his race found — (by the providential allot- 
ment of God) the rich south lands — the garden places and 
natural highways of the ancient world ; favoured by geograph- 
ical position and stimulated by a quickening climate, the 
nations of Ham were first to attain, and preeminent in re- 
cording, what we call civilization. It was theocratic. It had 
Altar and sacrifice and Priest and sacred signs of things — 
which were transmissions of Noah and reminiscences of 
Eden." 



As illustrative of the clarity of Dr. Craig's scholarship 
and the purity of his Greek it will be of interest here to 
include an example of his own writing in Greek to one 
of his students, the Eev. Zenas Post, reproduced in fac- 
simile. 

Keenly appreciative of the scholarly attainments of 
Dr. Craig were many men of large prominence. William 
Cullen Bryant, who gave to Dr. Craig an autographed 
copy of his translation of the "Iliad" was among these 
friends. Prof. E. L. Youmans, the first editor of the 



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386 LIFE AND LETTERS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

Popular Science Monthly who had been a professor at 
Autioch with Dr. Craig, was another. The following 
characteristic letter from Dr. Yonmans, written as he was 
approaching blindness and scarcely transcribable, is of 
interest : 



11 New York, April g, 1872, 
" My dear Mr. Craig : 

"I received your kind letter some days ago and had a 
renewal of life at again hearing from you. But I have allowed 
my letters to pile up unregarded for the past fortnight because 
I have been busy day and night and could not attend to them. 
For be it known that I am officially established as chief bellows 
blower to the ' New Popular Double-action Wind Mill and 
Universal Rag Bag of Science Monthly — Limited ' this day 
established by D. A. & Co. — which the same I will send to 
you. 

" Of course Galton's ' Hereditary Genius' is the book for the 
mental side of heredity. Spencer's l Biology,' though, is the 
indispensable first book of the subject. When you get the 
1 Rag Bag ' you will see on the last page of cover a list of 
names and subjects to be dealt with. Professor Rihat of 
France will probably contribute to this series — at all events he 
will soon publish ' Heredity in Mind, — Its Facts; its Laws ; 
its Causes; its Consequences.' I will have them send you 
Galton's ' Biology ' which is in two volumes, is more expensive 
and you can return it if you like. We mean to stuff the sub- 
ject into the ' Rag Bag ' if the texture of said pouch does not 
prove to be too rotten to hold. 

" Do you never come to this wicked city ? If so do stop and 
see us. My time is spent chiefly at 319 East Fourteenth 
Street, and I would be happy indeed to have you come in upon 
me for close communion. 

" I fear me I may not get to your place. My legs are worn 
away by two feet in travelling, travelling, travelling, like the 
Wandering Jew. Lecturing is played out with me and so I 
must take to the press the rest of the time. 

" With kind regards to Mrs. Craig. 

" Yours very sincerely, 

"E. L. Youmans." 




PROFESSOR EDWARD L. YOUMANS 

First editor of the Popular Science Monthly and a 
warm friend of Dr. Craig. 



HIS SCHOLARSHIP 387 

But one may only here hint at the breadth and the 
depth of this man's scholarship. It was in the class- 
room, in personal discussions with other scholars over 
mooted points, in his immediate interpretation of the 
Bible from the original texts — in such ways his scholar- 
ship shone even brighter than in the many, very many, 
letters he wrote in elucidation of obscure points and 
passages. Often these letters were composed in the dead 
of the night when his never strong body needed rest. 
Often they were the indirect cause, through overwork, 
of hours of pain and restless nervousness ; but ever they 
were given out as was all the service of his great heart, 
unstintedly, ungrudgingly, with no regret but that he 
had not time and strength to answer them in a way that 
might better suit his critical mind. 

Day by day and year by year as Austin Craig advanced, 
one all but overmastering passion was in his heart — to 
write, as well as speak, for the good of the race. One 
may fancy easily that through all this noble life ran the 
regret that he was not able to give himself wholly to the 
pen 5 and if this be so, what daily sacrifices must have 
been his when instead of giving his undivided time and 
his unquestioned talents to literature he held himself 
sternly to the task set before him, doing that which to 
him seemed his highest measure of good. 

As we follow him through his writings, we see not only 
how rare was his gift of words and his fertility, see 
signs unmistakable at many a turn of the successes that 
would have awaited him as a writer of superb English 
prose, but we see through it all the golden threads of his 
own unselfishness, binding him to the people he loved 
less only than the Master he served. 



Writings of Austin Craig 

The Study of a Language. 

Conversational Style. 

The Jerusalem Idea — Fourth of July Meditations. 

The Press and the Church. 

"Give Attendance to Reading." 

The Heart and the Lungs of the Bible. 

A Minister's Pocketbook. 

A Christian by Nature. 

Seven Wishes. 

What is Truth ? 

Courage. 

A Statement of My Belief Concerning the Lord. 

Opinion and Faith. 

We Walk by Faith and not by Sight. 

Hand-works and Heart-work. 

Denominationalism. 

The Christian Church. 

A Milk Diet. 

Denominational Freedom. 

Theological Reaction. 

Sheep Fodder. 

The Sphere of Mary. 

Biblical Schooling. 

Dedication of a Carpenter's Shop. 

The True American Citizen. 

The Union of Weak Churches. 

An Interpretation. 

Please Pass the Salt. 

A Blessed Bell. 

Smaller Cans. 

A Word on Heralds. 

Remedy for Skepticism. 

Enoch — In Memoriam. 

The Philosophy of Prayer. 

Conversion. 

389 



390 WRITINGS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 

Duty of Consecrated Effort. 

Search the Scriptures. 

The Abolition of Slavery. 

Bible Translations Common and Uncommon. 

How to Prepare a Sermon. 

All Inspired Scripture. 

Too Much Preaching. 

Look Ye Out Among You. 

The Church the Medium. 

Interpretation of Baptism. 

Faith and Baptism. 

Sound Doctrine. 

Gog and Magog. 

A Model Visit. 

God Our Owner. 

Which, Law or Grace ? 

"Sir, We Would See Jesus." 

Paul's View of Women's Preaching. 

Beginnings. 

Shem's Debt to Ham. 

The Story of the World. 

Science and Philosophy. 

Christian Conciliation. 

Fox's Book of Martyrs. 

" Opposition to Romanism" — Its Character. 

Cain and Abel, or The Duty of Brotherly Care. 

"Mother, I Want Something to Do." 

Geometry of the Holy City. 

Episcopacy. 

Attitude in Prayer. 

Inspiration. 

The Blood of Christ. 

Preludes to Our Sonship in Christ. 

A Meditation on Faith in the Lord. 

To Grandmothers and Aunts. 

Keeping Children from Christ. 

What Do Ye More than Others ? 

An Independence Day Address. 

Concordances and Their Uses. 

The Saving Power of God Resident in the Gospel. 

Is the Gospel of Luke the Apostles' Creed ? 

Conversations on Christian Union. 



WRITINGS OF AUSTIN CRAIG 391 

Unity and Faith of the Christian Church. 
Getting Religion : A Popular Error Exposed. 
Right Use of Divine Revelation. 
A Literal Translation of the Lord's Prayer. 
Probably Spurious (Mistakes in the Bible). 
Building Doctrine on a Greek Preposition. 
The Great Enemy. 
The Evangelical Alliance. 
Marks of the True Church. 
Eating Christ's Flesh and Drinking His Blood. 
A Christmas Visit to Bethlehem. 
Bearing the Yoke in Youth. 
Love to Christ. 
Preaching Politics. 
The Successful Ministry. 
Christ and the Atonement. 

Can the Holiness of Christ's New Heavens and New Earth 
Ever Fail ? 

Speak Also to that Boy. 

Abolitionism in 1787. 

Also Lecture Notes and Various Short Articles. 



INDEX 



Ancestry, 15-19 

Andrew, Governor John A., 248, 
250 

Antioch, 153 . 

Antioch College, 137, 138-169, 
214-271 ; co-education in, 216, 
253, 267 ; president of, 226, 251, 
283-285 ; professor in, 252 ; cat- 
alogue of, 252; moral influence, 
252; admission of negroes to, 
253 ; and Horace Mann, 153, 
168 

Arbuckle, Rev. James, 113 

Beecher, Henry Ward, 120, 
323 

Bellows, Rev. H. W., letters to, 
74, 148,229; letters from, 121, 
226, 228 

Biblical School, 273 

Birthplace of Austin Craig, 17 

Blooming Grove, 112, 149, 276, 
277; church of, 112; installa- 
tion of Austin Craig as pastor, 
116 

Boyhood of Austin Craig, 19 

Christian Biblical Institute, 

299. 3° 2 > 3°4-3 2 °» 35 6 J ac- 
ceptance of presidency, 317 ; 
dedication of, 321 

Christian Connexion, 221, 259, 

300, 306, 307, 310 

Clark, Hon. David, 321, 353, 367 
Coleman, Norman J., 143 ; letters 

from, 144 
College life, 21 
Conference address, 88, 1 1 1 ; letter 

about, 126 
Craig, Moses, 15, 16, 18; letter 

from, 27 ; Rachel Carhart, 16, 

17 ; Adelaide Churchill, 140- 



146, 325, 326; letter from to 
Horace Mann, 145 ; Dr. Sarah 
McCarn, 356 
Craigville, 383 

Death of Dr. Craig, 357 
Diaries of Dr. Craig, 348 

Early life, 13-20 

Early preaching, 54, 67, 273, 275 

Felt, David, 68 ; letter to, 1 14 
Feltville, 68, 71, 73, 84, 112 
First sermon, 57 
First charge, 68-85 

Garfield, General, 248, 331 

Goff, Rev. I. C, 22, 43, 323, 367 ; 
letter to, 231 

Goodwin, Mr. Edwin L., 345; 
reminiscences by, 345 

Greeley, Horace, 88, 120 ; auto- 
graph letter of, 120 

Hale, Edward Everett, 237, 
249 ; introduction by, 1 1 ; and 
Antioch College, 267, 271 ; let- 
ters to, 255, 258 

Hathaway, Dr. Warren, 311, 324, 

358-307 
Hathaway, Mrs. Warren, 334 
Hill, Rev. Thomas, 224, 229 ; let- 
ter from, 225 ; letter to, 231-239 
Hosmer, Dr. G. W., 263; letter 

from, 265 
Hosmer, Dr. J. K., 263, 368 
Howell, Professor Selah, 354 
Humour of Dr. Craig, 221 



Installation as pastor of Bloom- 
ing Grove Church, 116 



393 



394 



INDEX 



Installation as pastor of Feltville 

Church, 74 
Introduction, II 
Irvine, Mrs. Julia J., 354 

Lafayette College, 20, 21, 28- 
30, 66 

Lavvshe, Rev. J. G., 132 

Lecture before New Jersey Legis- 
lature, 132, 133 

Livermore, A. A., letter from, 293 

Mann, Horace, 117, 154, 189, 
372; address of, 11 8- 120; cor- 
respondence of, 134-212, 376 

Mann, Mary, 223, 334 

Marshall Convention, 312 

Mayo, Rev. A. D., 230 

McQuaid, Bishop Bernard John, 75 

Meadville, 278, 285-286, 288, 293- 
299 

Millerism, 15, 33-53 

Miller, William, 33, 52 ; beliefs of, 

35-37 
Moore, Rev. D. W., 370 

Newhouse, Rev. S. S., 297-299 
New Bedford, North Christian 
Church of, 299, 300-303 

Ordination, 56-57 



Orton, Professor Edward, 251 

Parker, Theodore, 211, 217 
Peapack, New Jersey, 17 
Personality, 337 
Post, Rev. Zenas, 385 
Preface by W. S. Harwood, 5 

Relation to students, 260-262, 

34i, 352 
Ross, Elder John, letter to, 272- 

287 

Scholarship of Austin Craig, 374 

Smith, Gerrit, 87-88 

Stafford Convention, 215 ; address 

at, 216 
Sterrett, A. McD., letter from, 76 
Summerbell, B. F., 67 
Summerbell, Rev. N., 371 

Weston, Rev. J. B., 245, 369 
Whittier, John G., 50, 5 1 
Wright, R. J., 28, 39, 40, 61, 62 
Writings of Austin Craig, list of, 

389-391 
Wyman, Rev. O. T., 369 

Youmans, Dr., 26 
Youmans, Professor E. L., 263 ; 
letter from, 386 









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